A Mistake Gone Right
by Kazix
Summary: By stealing something so simple, Kagome is thrown into a battle between good and evil where she must decide whether to betray her friends or the world. In a world where power means everything, the Shikon no Tama is the grand prize.
1. The First Mistake

AN: Hey guys, it's kyuuka-kit, starting another story! Yeah, I know I'm doing 'Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts' right now, but my muses hit me with inspiration...literally! They took a clipboard with their idea on it and hit me in the head with it! I like this idea better than my other story, but I will be updating both regularly...hopefully. I'll take turns updating each story, to make it fair, ok?

Disclaimer: This will be the only time in this story I will be disclaiming my rights of Inuyasha and gang. I have not rights to them, Rumiko Takahashi does. In all my other chapters, I will say 'refer to chapter 1' or something.

**_A Mistake Gone Right_**

**__**

**Chapter 1: The First Mistake**

Lord Inuyasha walked down the village of Tenka with his best friend and cousin, Lord Miroku. They were traveling to the kingdom of Yamakaji to meet some princess or something. Inuyasha hadn't wanted to go, but his father ordered him to, so he didn't really have a choice. Miroku was busy talking Inuyasha's ear off about all the beautiful ladies in the village and each of their good traits, but it was annoying Inuyasha to no end. After listening to Miroku's blabber-mouth for over an hour, he wanted him to shut up.

"Miroku, will you just st-" Inuyasha started but something, or rather someone caught his interest. He caught sight of someone sitting against a building. She looked to be about his age, probably a year or two younger. Her peasant clothes were tattered, torn, and dirty and the rest of her body seemed to be in the same state, with bruises, cuts, and dirt covering her face and arms. Although her long raven hair was messy and dirty it still looked like it could be silky-soft if she groomed it properly. Her chocolate brown eyes stood out the most against her grimy clothes and face. She was slowly eating a small piece of bread (and by small I mean as small as a cracker). She looked as if she hadn't eaten in days. She looked up at him curiously. Then slowly, she gave him a small beautiful smile.

Miroku stopped and turned around when he noticed Inuyasha had stopped walking. Inuyasha was staring at something off to the side.

"Inuyasha, are you coming?" Miroku questioned, not bothering to follow his line of sight. Inuyasha looked at him.

"Yeah, I'm coming, monk!" he stated as he walked up next to his friend. He turned back to look at the girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. Inuyasha shrugged; maybe he'd see her again sometime. 'Yeah right, what are the chances of that?' he thought as they continued down the street. Little did he know, his chances were very high.

----Kagome's POV----

She was slowly eating a piece of bread. It had been the first time she had eaten in four or five days, so she was cherishing every minute of it. She had stolen it from a man walking down the street. She knew it wasn't a very smart thing to do, but hey, she was hungry. She stopped eating when she sensed someone staring at her. She looked up and saw a man with long, silver hair and dog ears on top. He had to be at least part youkai. He had on very elegant clothes, which meant he was probably a royal. But the most interesting thing about him was his golden amber eyes. She slowly smiled at him, as she did with most everybody. When she noticed he looked away, she got up and ran off. As handsome as she thought he was, if anyone, let alone a royal, spotted her with stolen food, she'd be in big trouble. No way was she getting in trouble today. She stole a glance back and bumped into someone. 'Oh no!' she thought as she recognized the man she had stolen from earlier.

"You! You were the one who stole my food, you bitch!" he yelled as he slapped her. Kagome stumbled backwards into an alley without losing her balance. "You better give back what you stole or I'm going to make you wish you had never been born, bitch!" he shouted, stepping into the alley and picking her up by the front of her shirt.

"I-I don't h-have i-it!" Kagome stuttered. His eyes widened and he dropped her on the ground. She landed wrong and felt pain sear through her ankle. She glanced down and paled at the sight. It was at a very awkward angle and it made her nauseous seeing it literally bent out of shape.

"Where is it!?" the man shouted, causing Kagome to look up at him.

"I-I ate i-it" she mumbled. His eyes widened more, if possible, as he pulled her up by her wrist and forced her to look in his face by holding her chin with his other hand.

"You better be able to pay for it, bitch! And if you can't, I'll make you pay!" he threatened, breathing in Kagome's face. His breath reeked of alcohol. 'Oh Kami, this is even worse than I thought!' she thought and mentally kicked herself for stealing from a drunk.

"I-I d-don't have a-any mo-money," she mumbled, trying to look away. When he heard this he dropped her once again and she landed hard on her back. 'Oh Kami, this hurts,' she thought as pain raced through her body. He kicked her in the stomach and she groaned in pain. He kept kicking, hitting, and beating her until she thought she was going to die. 'This is it, this is the end,' she thought as he picked her up by her hair.

"This will teach you to steal from me again!" he said as he threw her against the concrete. Blackness threatened to take over her vision. She closed her eyes and the last thing she heard before succumbing to the blackness was "What the hell do you think you're doing, you bastard!?"

----Inuyasha's POV----

Inuyasha and Miroku were walking along the street when suddenly, Inuyasha froze. Miroku stopped walking when he saw Inuyasha start sniffing. He turned to his cousin.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

"Blood, human blood," was all he said before speeding off.

"Wait for me!" Miroku yelled as he chased after his hanyou friend.

Inuyasha reached an alley and saw a man throw someone against the concrete ground. He studied the prone form and realized it was the girl he saw earlier. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you bastard!?" he yelled as he stepped into the alley. The man turned around and scoffed.

"I'm beating this thieving bitch, what does it look like I'm doing?" he asked. Inuyasha growled.

"Leave her alone!" he growled out.

"And just what are you going to do if I don't?" he smirked. This pissed Inuyasha off to no end.

"I'm going to kill you, of course," he replied as if the man should have known this already.

"I'd like to see you try!" challenged the man as he got into a fighting stance. Inuyasha took his own stance before lunging at the man. He punched him square in the jaw, causing it to break. He jumped back to his spot and smirked. The man looked horrified.

"Care to try again?" Inuyasha questioned. The man just shook his head and ran away as if the devil was on his heels. Inuyasha looked back at his retreating back and also saw Miroku standing against the wall.

"Honestly, Inuyasha, must you get into fights every where we go?" Miroku sighed.

"Feh! I just saved this girl's life! I hope," he added as an afterthought as he walked over to the girl. "Oi monk, get over here!" he commanded, kneeling next to the prone girl. Miroku complied and kneeled on the other side of the girl. He looked over her. She had some pretty bad wounds. She had a large bleeding gash on her forehead, bruises on her wrist and neck, a broken ankle, and other various injuries. He checked her pulse. It seemed to be normal.

"She should be fine after her wounds heal," stated Miroku, looking at Inuyasha. Inuyasha nodded, indicating he understood. "What should we do with her?" asked Miroku. Inuyasha thought for a minute.

"Let's bring her with us and check in at the nearest inn. I want to at least make sure she starts healing properly before we continue our journey," suggested Inuyasha. Miroku nodded in agreement. Inuyasha scooped up the girl in her arms, bridal style and stood up, Miroku following suit. He started walking down the street with Miroku following him. He looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms. She looked so calm and peaceful despite her wounds. He couldn't help but wonder what her name was. It had to be a pretty name since she was a pretty girl. He saw the entrance to the inn and turned to it and waited for Miroku to open the door. Miroku walked ahead and held open the door for Inuyasha. After the hanyou had gone through, he followed. He walked up to the counter. There was an old woman behind it, looking through a book.

"Hey, can you help us?" Inuyasha asked, breaking her thoughts as she looked up at him.

"Welcome to my inn, how may I help ye?" the woman asked.

"We need a room to stay in, please," Miroku cut in before Inuyasha had a chance to respond. The woman nodded and walked out from behind the counter.

"I'm Kaede, follow me please," she stated as she began walking briskly down a hall. They followed after her and stopped when the woman opened a door. "This will be your room. Go ahead, make yourselves comfortable," she said, motioning for them to enter. They did and Inuyasha placed the girl on the bed. But before he had a chance to walk away, the girl grabbed a handful of his hair.

"So...soft..." she mumbled in her blissful slumber. Inuyasha's face turned slightly pink as he tried to no avail to get his hair out of her grasp. He came up with an idea and quickly put his hand in hers to replace his hair. It worked and his hair was free. Unfortunately his hand was not as lucky. Inuyasha sighed and sat down on the bed next to the girl who was clutching his hand. Miroku walked over and smiled.

"Kaede said if we needed anything to get her," he said while trying to stifle his laughter. Inuyasha wanted to punch him, but unfortunately his hand was being held by the sleeping girl. "She's pretty," stated Miroku, getting a strange glint in his eyes.

"Don't even think about it, lecher!" growled Inuyasha. Miroku quickly backed off.

"Think about what? I have no idea what you're talking about!" Miroku said, feigning innocence. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and looked back down at the girl. He couldn't help but agree with Miroku. She was pretty, no, she was gorgeous! If she just had a fresh pair of clothes and a bath, she'd easily be the prettiest girl Inuyasha had ever seen.

"Monk, go see if Kaede has any clothes that might fit this girl," ordered Inuyasha. Miroku nodded and left, leaving Inuyasha with the girl. Her eyes fluttered open and she glanced lazily around the room.

"Where am I?" she whispered, not expecting a response since she hadn't seen the hanyou sitting on the edge of her bed.

"You're at an inn. Miroku and I brought you here. You were pretty beat up when I found you," he explained. Kagome's eyes widened as she remembered what happened before she passed out. The man had been beating her when she heard a voice that seemed to calm her. She looked at the man sitting before her. He had silver hair and little dog ears. She resisted the urge to reach up and touch them and looked at his eyes. They were a beautiful amber color. Then she remembered that this was the guy she had seen in the street before she ran into the man.

"You're the guy I saw," she said weakly. Inuyasha nodded. "What's your name?" she asked him.

"Inuyasha Akai," he answered. "And what is yours, might I ask?"

"I'm Kagome, Kagome Higurashi," she answered, smiling.

"I'm please to meet you, Kagome," he said smiling back.

"Are you a royal?" she wondered out loud before she could stop herself. Inuyasha chuckled. This girl was pretty straight-forward.

"Yes, I'm a royal," he answered. Kagome's eyes somewhat saddened at his statement and he was about to ask her what was wrong when Miroku came through the door, a bundle in his hands.

"Inuyasha, Kaede managed to find some clothes and she also gave us some bandages and remedies and such," Miroku informed Inuyasha. Inuyasha stood up and that's when Kagome realized she had been holding his hand. She quickly released it and slightly blushed. Inuyasha took the bundle from Miroku and placed it on the bed. Miroku saw her and smiled.

"My name is Miroku, and what, my lovely lady, is yours?" he asked in his sweetest voice.

"K-Kagome," she replied, blushing more. Nobody had ever called her a lovely lady before.

"Well, Kagome," he started, walking up to her bed and grabbing her hands in his, "I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Kagome nodded, "And what would that be?"

Miroku inhaled deeply and asked, "Would you like to bear my child?" He was rewarded with a slap from Kagome and a hit in the head from Inuyasha.

"I told you not to do that, Miroku!" Inuyasha growled.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist!" he stated while rubbing the bump on his head.

"Serves you right, you lech!" Miroku only sighed and sat down against a wall. Inuyasha turned to Kagome.

"Miroku got you some clothes and bandages. We need to dress your wounds," he explained. Kagome blushed furiously.

"And who's going to dress my wounds?" she asked.

Inuyasha gulped. He hadn't thought of that. Miroku or him couldn't because...well...they were guys and they would have to take off Kagome's shirt. Inuyasha blushed at the thought but shook it off.

"I'll be right back," he stated before walking out the door, leaving a confused Kagome behind. He returned a few minutes later, though, with Kaede in tow. Kaede walked over to Kagome's bed and studied the girl. She then turned to the two guys.

"Will you two leave while I dress her wounds?" she asked. They complied, leaving Kaede with Kagome. "My name is Kaede and what might yours be, child?" she asked while organizing the bandages and assorted medicines.

"Kagome," she replied simply. Kaede came back over with bandages, a washcloth, and a bottle of something in her hands.

"It's nice to meet ye, Kagome. In order to dress your wounds, I'm going to have to remove your shirt, is that okay?" she asked putting the bandages, washcloth, and bottle on the nightstand next to the bed. Kagome nodded and sat up so Kaede could pull it off without hassle. Kaede slipped the shirt off of her and put it at the foot of the bed, next to the bundle of clean clothes. She then picked up the washcloth and bottle and poured some of the bottle's contents onto the washcloth.

"Now, this will sting, but it disinfects the wounds," she said and looked at Kagome. Kagome gulped but nodded and braced herself for the pain.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Kagome yelled as the washcloth was dabbed over her wounds. The door flew open and revealed a startled hanyou.

"What's the matter!?" he shouted and then saw Kagome. He blushed, as did she and was rooted to the spot.

"Inuyasha, do not come in until I tell ye to do so!" ordered Kaede and Inuyasha quickly left, closing the door behind him. Kagome was sure her cheeks were bright red but at least that had taken her mind off the pain. Kaede finished cleaning her wounds and picked up the bandages. She wrapped up her wounds and began mixing some of the medicines on another table on the other side of the room. She finished and poured it into a cup.

"Here, drink this, child. Ye will be drowsy, but it helps heal the wounds," she explained as she handed the cup to Kagome. Kagome downed the whole thing, despite the putrid taste. Her eyes immediately began to close as she fell back down on the bed, dropping the cup on the floor and falling into a blissful sleep involving her rescuer. Her last conscious thought was that she had made a mistake by stealing from that man...but it was a mistake gone right.

AN: Well, it's 4:50 in the morning and I've been up all night. Funny, I'm not really that tired. ::shrugs:: oh well. Please read my other story Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts. If you wanna email me, it's red dragon522hotmail.com with an underscore after 'red'. Or if you have AIM, my screen name is CapnCalicoJack74. Well that's all for now, catch ya later!


	2. A New Identity

AN: Well, here's another chapter. I feel pretty good. I already have 4 reviews! I love my reviewers! Oh, and I got a review that said I forgot to say how old they are! Sorry about that, it completely slipped my mind! Anyway, Kagome is 16 and Inuyasha and Miroku are 18. When Sango comes in, she'll be 17. I'll tell you the other character's ages as I go. Hehe, I guess you wanna read the chapter now. Ok!

Disclaimer: refer to Chapter 1!

Last Chapter:

"Here, drink this, child. Ye will be drowsy, but it helps heal the wounds," she explained as she handed the cup to Kagome. Kagome downed the whole thing, despite the putrid taste. Her eyes immediately began to close as she fell back down on the bed, dropping the cup on the floor and falling into a blissful sleep involving her rescuer. Her last conscious thought was that she had made a mistake by stealing from that man...but it was a mistake gone right.

**_A Mistake Gone Right_**

**__**

**Chapter 2: A New Identity**

Kagome slowly regained consciousness and opened her eyes. She shot straight up, but immediately regretted it as pain raced through her whole body. She fell back against the bed and tried to remember exactly what had happened yesterday. Her memories came soaring back to her. She remembered that Inuyasha and Miroku and Kaede had saved her life. Kagome looked down, studying her bandages. Some of them had red stains, while others were still clean. She relaxed when she saw she had new, clean clothes on, although her body was still pretty dirty. She desperately wanted a bath, but she knew that that would probably have to wait. She took in her surroundings. It was the room she had been put in yesterday. Her eyes landed upon a certain silver-haired hanyou and she smiled. He was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the wall and he looked so content. She continued taking everything in when she spotted the hentai monk from yesterday lying on the floor, slightly curled up. They both looked so peaceful. Kagome let her eyes wander back to Inuyasha. She saw his oh-so-cute dog ears perched on top his head and felt a longing to pet them.

"So cute..." she mumbled to herself.

"Oh, so you're awake?" To Kagome's surprise, Inuyasha looked up from his position on the floor and opened his eyes. Kagome nodded.

"Yes, I'm awake," she said, trying again to sit up, only to have pain shoot through her once again. "Aaahh," she groaned and winced in pain. Inuyasha quickly got up and was at her side in an instant. He gently pushed her shoulder back so she was lying down again.

"You shouldn't move, you're injuries haven't had much time to heal," he explained. Kagome's mouth formed a small 'o' shape and she sighed dejectedly. "What did you to do to make that guy so mad at you yesterday?" he asked, hoping to get more information about this girl.

"Why does it matter?" Kagome questioned him, not wanting to tell him that she'd stolen from him.

"I'm just curious! I think I deserve an explanation since I'm the one who saved you from certain death!" argued Inuyasha.

"Well I wish you hadn't!" shouted Kagome back at him, sitting up as she did so, ignoring the pain her body was suffering through. Inuyasha looked taken aback. Was her life really that bad that she would rather have been killed? Inuyasha's eyes immediately softened. He somehow felt that he understood this girl's pain.

"Your life can't have been that bad!" he retorted.

"If only you knew..." she mumbled as tears started streaking down her dirty face. Inuyasha turned back to her when he smelt her tears.

"Don't cry! Please, don't cry! I can't stand to see an innocent girl cry!" he calmly said, trying his best to comfort her. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly as he pushed her back down again so she was, again, lying down. Kagome's crying softened, but it didn't stop. She shook her head and quickly focused her gaze anywhere but his eyes. She found his eyes very enchanting and had a hard time not spilling her guts to this stranger. "Well if you do ever need to talk, I'm here for you. I promise, I'll always be here for you," she looked up at him when she heard him say those words of trust and promise.

"How will you always be there for me? You're a royal and I'm just a peasant, a nobody. I can't become a royal unless I marry one," Kagome remarked smartly. Inuyasha mentally cursed himself. She was right, of course. But he didn't really want to leave her behind, where that man and possibly his friends could hurt Kagome more. Then he got a brilliant idea.

"You can travel with Miroku and me! You can pretend to be a royal from a far away kingdom!" he suggested with excitement in his eyes. Kagome pondered this for a moment before nodding.

"That's a good idea, but I'm afraid I don't own any royal clothes or anything and I have no money. I'm also sort of bed-ridden," she said, indicating her current injuries.

"That's all right; we can easily get you some royal clothes and don't worry about money. And we won't continue traveling until you're well enough to do so."

Kagome thought for a moment before smiling. This might turn out to be a blessing that Kami had finally graced her with. "Ok, let's do it!" she said determined.

"Ok, you're going to need a royal name and I can send Miroku out to go shopping for clothes. Hmmmm...a name..." he pondered, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"How about Kaitou Hitoride?" asked Kagome. Inuyasha looked at her. How did she come up with a name so fast? He decided to voice his question aloud.

"How did you come up with a name so fast?"

Kagome shrugged. "Well, what do you think?" Inuyasha pondered the name for a while. 'Kaitou Hitoride...Kaitou Hitoride...Kaitou...' He decided it was as good a name as any and he nodded.

"That will be your name; Kaitou Hitoride. Now we need to make up a land where you come from."

"How about Fumounochi?" she suggested. He was surprised yet again. She had to have quite an imagination if she could think up stuff like that that fast.

"Okay, you're Lady Kaitou Hitoride from the land of Fumounochi, which is located far to the east. I found you walking alone in this village and noticed you were a royal so I approached you. You left your kingdom by your parents' orders in order to find a suitable husband." It was Kagome's turn to be awe-struck. If he thought she could think fast, he should listen to himself sometime. He stared at Kagome, waiting for approval on the story. Kagome nodded and smiled. He smiled back. A slight grumbling caught their attention and they looked around to see what had caused it only to find Miroku stretching and yawning.

"Good morning," he said sleepily while rubbing his eyes.

"It's about time you woke up, monk!" Inuyasha shouted at the now awake Miroku.

"Well excuse me for being human and wanting to sleep," retorted Miroku.

"Feh!" was Inuyasha's reply as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned away. Kagome stared on in amusement and soon couldn't help but giggle. "What's so funny, wench?" Inuyasha asked harshly. Needless to say, Kagome was shocked. Inuyasha had been nothing but nice to her since they met, even if it was only yesterday. This new turn of personality confused her. She was used to people calling her names like that, it happened every day, but she never expected her rescuer to call her that.

"Oh, you wanna know what's funny, eh? Well, look in a mirror!" she shouted back, sitting up again.

"I look better than you do right now!"

"Well excuse me for not being all rich and getting beat up by a big ugly man!"

"A big ugly man that I saved you from!"

"I'd rather be with that big ugly man than with you!"

"Fine, go back to him! See if I care!"

"Fine, I will!" she said as she climbed out of bed. It hurt like hell, but she started to walk stiffly to the door only to have Inuyasha pick her up and put her back in bed.

"Don't move around too much or you'll hurt yourself, stupid," he said softly. Even though he added that insult at the end, Kagome could see the concern in his eyes. Her eyes immediately softened as she smiled. Miroku cleared his throat to grab the attention of the two.

"If you two love-birds are done, I'd like to have breakfast," he stated calmly. Inuyasha would have hit him for the 'love-birds' comment, but he too was hungry and his loudly growling stomach proved it.

"Fine, you and me will go get something to bring back here and eat. Kagome, don't move around too much or you might reopen your wounds, got it?" he added as he and Miroku left, leaving Kagome to her own devices. She decided she really wanted a bath, so she slowly and painfully got out of bed and began walking down the hall. She got to the service desk and saw Kaede.

"Lady Kaede, could you point me in the direction of the bath?" she asked the old lady, causing her to look up.

"Ye should not be out of bed, child!" she exclaimed as she came around the corner to support the girl.

"But I really want to take a bath," Kagome protested. Kaede sighed as she led the girl down the hall.

"All right, but ye must be extremely careful," she said as she led Kagome through a door and to the bath area. It was like a big swimming pool, a big heated swimming pool with candles all around the edge and various soaps set out. "I'll come in to check on ye later, child," Kaede said as she left the room. Kagome carefully sat on the edge and took off her clothes and slowly slid into the hot water.

"Ahhhh," Kagome sighed, relaxing in the water. She closed her eyes and a smile touched her lips. She then grabbed some soap and began scrubbing her skin, cleaning all the dirt and grime off. When she completed her first task, she grabbed the shampoo (I don't know if they had shampoo or conditioner back then, but in my story they have a primitive version of it, k? thanks for understanding!) and squirted some in her hair and lathered. The scent filled her nose and she was completely and utterly relaxed. When she had finished washing her hair, she stayed in for a while longer. She wanted time to think. And that's exactly what she did. She thought about everything. She wondered why Inuyasha had saved her and why he wanted her to travel with them. Her thoughts then wandered back to her family. Her parents and little brother had been killed by a local gang. Apparently her father owed them some money but he didn't have it so they took his and his family's lives. It happened when she was around 6 years old. Now it was 10 years later. She hadn't been there because she was visiting her friend, Sango. But the week after her parents and brother died, Sango and her family moved. Kagome doubted she would ever see her again. She continued thinking in the water when Kaede came in.

"Are ye finished?" she asked. Kagome nodded and Kaede went to grab her some more clothes and a towel. When she arrived, Kagome got out and dried off and changed. Kaede then helped walk her back to her room where Inuyasha and Miroku were waiting.

"Oi, wench, I told you not to move!" Inuyasha shouted the minute she came in. He then took in her appearance. Despite her bandages, she was now even prettier than before, now that she had cleaned up.

"I'm sorry, but I really wanted a bath," she apologized. Inuyasha walked over to her and stopped. He took in her scent. She smelled like a field of flowers. When Kagome saw that he was just standing there, staring at her, she decided to break the silence.

"When are we leaving?" she asked. Miroku raised an eyebrow from his seat in a corner.

"We?" he repeated, obviously confused. Inuyasha mentally slapped himself. He had forgotten to tell Miroku the story they had made up.

"Yeah, she's coming with us. Her name is going to be Lady Kaitou Hitoride from the far east land of Fumounochi," Inuyasha explained.

"I see...So why is she coming with us?" Miroku asked.

"Because we can't leave her here with that creep, ya moron!" Inuyasha said, as if it should have obvious.

"My mistake, I should've known," Miroku replied sarcastically.

"That's right, ya should have!" Inuyasha agreed, completely oblivious to the sarcasm.

Kagome shook her head at the guys' antics. It was just too funny. She decided to interrupt their little 'conversation' before it got out of hand.

"So...when are we leaving?" she repeated, hoping to catch their attention. She did and they looked over at her.

"We'll leave when your wounds heal," stated Inuyasha.

"But why can't we leave today?" she asked.

"Did you not hear me? You're not well enough yet!" explained Inuyasha.

"I am so! Look, I can walk without anyone's help!" she said as she took a few steps forward. Unfortunately she tripped and landed in Inuyasha's arms. She looked up and saw his face expressing concern.

"Looks to me like we won't leave until at least tomorrow," he said as he led her back to her bed. "We brought back some food," he said as he put a bowl full of oden in front of her.

"Oden!!" she shouted and almost jumped back out of bed in sheer joy, but she didn't want to spill any. Inuyasha sweat dropped and handed her a pair of chopsticks and she practically inhaled it. When she was finished she let out a long and content sigh.

"Aren't you going to eat, too?" she pondered out loud.

"We ate while we were waiting for you to get back from your bath," Miroku explained. "Inuyasha wanted to go get you, but I had to convince him that it was very un-gentlemanly to walk in on a lovely lady while she was bathing."

"I did not!" Inuyasha argued. Kagome blushed from embarrassment.

"Denial is always the first stage," Miroku said smartly. Inuyasha growled and held up his fists as a threat. "Whoa, down boy!" Miroku said smiling. That was the last straw. Inuyasha hit him and Miroku hit the floor, now unconscious. Inuyasha made a gesture as if he was wiping his hands clean as he smiled.

"Get some rest, you'll need it," Inuyasha advised as he perched himself against a wall and closed his eyes. Kagome smiled. She wasn't tired at all. 'I have a feeling I'm going to have quite the adventure traveling with these two.'

AN: Wow, that's shorter than usual. ::shrugs:: Oh well! I did pretty good considering I wrote it while having a case of writer's block! Tomorrow, they begin their journey and some...stuff...happens. I don't know exactly what'll happen yet, but it doesn't matter, because I have to update Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts before updating the next chapter to this one! If you haven't checked that story out yet, I'd appreciate it if you did! Time for Reviewer Responses!!

**kagomeChan666-** Tank ya for the compliment! Here's your update!

**kit**- Awww, you read my story even if you just woke up! Hehe, I feel special!

**obsessiveIY-psycho-girl92-** Glad ya like! And thanks for reminding me about their ages!

**romie43-** I'm glad you like it, here's the update!

Well that's it for now! Hope you liked the chapter and review, please!?


	3. Enter Sango

AN: I don't know how I'm gonna write this chapter. My muses are gone, I can't find them! Oh well, they can help some other time! I was very surprised at how many reviews I got! I love you all!!! But if I had more reviewers, I'd be happier! ::wink, wink, nudge, nudge::

Disclaimer: Check Chapter 1, I haven't changed it since then, but if I do get to owning these people, I'll tell ya!

**_A Mistake Gone Right_**

**__**

**Chapter 3: Enter Sango**

----The next day!----

Kagome's injuries had healed up to the point where she could move around without being in pain so they all agreed to leave that day...well, not everyone.

"You're not healed yet, wench!"

"I'm healed enough, let's just go!"

"We can't go now because you're too weak right now! Besides, you would slow us down in your condition!"

"I'm NOT too weak, I'm perfectly fine, Inuyasha!"

"You ARE too weak!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am NOT!" yelled Kagome as she stomped out of the room, making sure to 'accidentally' step on Inuyasha's foot.

"Ow! Get back here wench!" he yelled after her. But she had already gone down the hall. Inuyasha sighed and motioned for Miroku to follow him. He complied and they walked down the hall looking for Kagome. Then Inuyasha saw Kaede at the front desk, like usual.

"Oi, Kaede!" he yelled, getting her attention, "Have you seen Kagome?"

Kaede nodded, "Ay, she went out into the village." Inuyasha ran out the door with Miroku following.

"Inuyasha, don't you think we should give her some time?" questioned Miroku.

"No, she's still wounded, she shouldn't be up. What if that guy found her again?"

Miroku was surprised at the concern in Inuyasha's voice, so he just followed along. Inuyasha stopped and sniffed the air.

"She's this way," he stated and began running in that direction. Miroku sighed and ran after him. 'Inuyasha's changed since he met Kagome...sort of. He seems to care more anyway.' After a couple minutes of running, Inuyasha finally slowed down and came to a halt in front of an old abandoned house. Hesitantly, he went inside followed by a wary Miroku. The place looked like it had been uncared for for about a decade. There was dust and cobwebs everywhere. There were upturned tables and chairs littering the front room. Inuyasha walked around this and went down a hall. He was about to pass a door when he heard something inside. As silently as he could, he slipped inside and left Miroku to wait outside the door.

"What do you want?" asked Kagome who was currently kneeling down in front of an alter in a praying position. The alter looked old, but it also looked like the only well-kept thing in the house.

"I wanted to check on you," explained Inuyasha.

"I don't need you to check on me, I've been able to take care of myself for 10 years."

Inuyasha knelt down beside her which caused her to peek through one eye at him.

"If you really wanna go today, we can," he said just loud enough for her to hear. She cracked open both eyes and turned her head toward him.

"I was just thinking that it would be better to leave sooner rather than later because you and Miroku had to have been on an important journey to be walking through a town like Tenka. I didn't want you to be late for anything." Inuyasha's mouth formed an 'oh' in understanding. "Where were you going?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Miroku and I were traveling to the kingdom of Yamakaji. Don't worry about us being late. We're only going because my father wanted me to meet some princess or something," explained Inuyasha. He looked over at Kagome who seemed to look crestfallen but her expression was quickly replaced with a smile.

"Okay, but I do feel fine so we could leave now if you want."

"All right, we'll go then," he said getting up. He briskly walked out of the door with Kagome behind him. Noticing Miroku was leaned against a wall with his eyes closed, Inuyasha called back. "Oi, monk, hurry up, will ya?" Miroku opened his eyes and saw the two retreating figures and hurried to catch up with them. The exited the house and walked in silence to the inn they were staying that...until Miroku decided to speak.

"Kagome, why did you go to that abandoned house to pray?"

Kagome stopped walking abruptly and the other two turned towards her. She lowered her head so her bangs covered her eyes.

"That was my home...before...before my...parents and brother...before they were...were killed," she said with great difficulty. She had never talked at all about her past with anybody and she had never planned to. But here she was, talking about her family to people she had only met two ago. Had it only been two days? It seemed like forever to her. Her thoughts were put to a stop as she heard someone calling her.

"Oi, wench! Hello!? Earth to Kagome!?" shouted Inuyasha directly in her face. She shook off her thoughts and took a step back.

"Don't call me wench!"

"Feh! I'll call you whatever I want, wench!"

Kagome felt her blood boil. How she wanted to punch Inuyasha right now. And that's exactly what she did. She smirked and drew back her right fist. She punched him in the stomach and began walking away, leaving Inuyasha doubled over in pain. She reached the inn without the guys catching up to her. She guessed Inuyasha was still in too much pain to run.

"Hello Kaede!" said a cheerful Kagome as entered the inn.

"Hello dear!" was Kaede's response. "What has gotten ye in such a mood, child?" she asked curiously.

Kagome only smiled more and said, "I think Inuyasha is having stomach pains." And with that, she skipped down the hall back to their room. 'If they don't come back soon, I'll go look for them.'

----Inuyasha' POV----

After Kagome had punched him, he doubled over in pain. He hadn't realized how strong she was. No wonder she was up and about after only 2 days of injuries. Miroku patted him on the back.

"Inuyasha, I didn't think you would cry if you ever had skin contact with a female," said Miroku.

"Monk, you have 3 seconds before I kill you," Inuyasha stated between gritted teeth.

"Now is that any way to treat your cousin and best friend?" asked a smiling Miroku.

"3," Inuyasha started. Miroku still didn't move, so he continued counting. "2..." And with that Miroku was racing through the streets of Tenka with a goofy smile on his face.

Inuyasha didn't bother to count to '1' as he chased after Miroku. He saw Miroku run into a girl and fall down on top of her. He caught up with them.

"Get off of the ground, monk...and her," he added while pointing at her.

----Miroku's POV----

He was running wildly through the streets when he saw a girl that looked to be about 17 years old standing there, petting a very large cat youkai. She didn't see him coming and he couldn't stop in time. He ran smack dab into her and fell down, bringing her down beneath him. He studied her features. She had long black hair in a high ponytail and stunning brown eyes, which had purple eyeliner on top. She was wearing the tight black outfit of a demon exterminator and she had a very large boomerang on her back.

"Get off the ground, monk...and her," he heard Inuyasha say.

----Sango's POV----

(AN: Yes, I know, there's 3 POV's here. It's just to make it interesting...and to make it longer! Hehe, but it is interesting!)

She was just standing there, petting Kirara, when someone ran full-force into her and landed on top of her. She looked at the disturbance and the first thing she noticed were his sparkling violet eyes. She then took in the rest of him. He had black hair pulled into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. She wanted to see what he was wearing, but she couldn't look down from her position. She was about to tell him to get off her when someone else did.

"Get off the ground, monk...and her." She looked past the 'monk' to a man, no hanyou, with long silver hair and amber eyes. He was wearing royal clothes, and if he knew the 'monk' on top of her, then the 'monk' had to be a royal too! She quickly pushed him off of her and stood up. As she was brushing herself off, she heard someone clear their throat. She turned and saw the 'monk'.

"Yes?" she asked as politely as she could. She did not want to anger a royal.

"My name is Miroku, and what might yours be, lovely lady?" he asked as innocently as possible. Inuyasha scoffed at his friend's antics.

"I-I'm Sango," she said, blushing. 'Lovely lady? That's a first!'

"Hmmm, Sango. Such a lovely name. Sango, I have a question to ask of you."

"Y-yes?" she asked, her blush deepening.

He grabbed her hands in his. "Sango, would you do the honor of bearing my child?"

She froze for a second in order to register what had just happened. 'B-bear h-his CHILD!?' She took her hands from him roughly and pulled her right one back and slapped him as hard as she could. He rubbed the red handprint she had made and sighed. 'It was worth a shot.'

"Inuyasha? Miroku? Where are you guys?" someone shouted as they made their way toward the group. "Oh, there you ar-" Kagome stopped in mid-sentence, looking at the girl that was with them with shock. She noticed the girl was staring at her in much the same way.

"Ah, Kagome! This is Sa-" started Miroku but was interrupted by Kagome.

"Sango?" she asked quietly, as if she were afraid it were a dream.

"K-Kagome!?" asked Sango incredulously. Then they both smiled huge and tightly embraced each other. They were so overjoyed that they began crying.

"Oh Sango, I didn't think I would ever see you again!" said Kagome through her tears.

"I thought so too! I'm so shocked, Kagome!" said Sango through her own tears. Inuyasha and Miroku only looked on curiously. Inuyasha cleared his throat, expecting to grab the hugging girls' attention. When they didn't look his way, he cleared his throat louder. Still, they didn't seem to notice. He stomped over to them and threw his hands in the air.

"AHEM!" he shouted in their ears. They flinched.

"What do you want?" asked Kagome rather harshly. She hadn't seen Sango in 10 years and Inuyasha was interrupting them!

"I just wanna know what's going on!" he said, equally harsh.

Kagome sighed. She didn't really want to explain anything right now. She just wanted to catch up with Sango. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a growl from Kirara who seemed to have been forgotten in the excitement.

"Kirara!!" Kagome shouted as she ran over to the huge youkai and hugged it (AN: I honestly don't know if Kirara is male or female, so I'm referring to him/her as 'it'. But if you do know, please tell me!) around the neck. At first the youkai only looked quizzically at her, but then it began licking her face.

"Aw, come on, Kirara, quit it!" Kagome said while laughing. It stopped and Kagome stood up, wiping her face with her sleeve as best she could.

"Well? Are ya gonna tell me or not?" asked an impatient Inuyasha.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'll tell you. But first, can we go back to the inn?"

"Feh! Fine, wench!" said Inuyasha as he stomped off in the direction of the inn.

"Well, come on, ladies!" Miroku said with a smile as he turned to follow in Inuyasha's wake.

The girls looked at each other and shrugged, following the boys. Kirara followed quietly behind as the girls talked about what's been going on in their life.

By the time they got to the inn, Kagome had told Sango of how she came to meet up with Inuyasha and Miroku and Sango had told Kagome of what happened since she moved.

"Well, after we moved, things were fine. I still missed you and didn't really find many friends. It was even harder since we had moved into a demon exterminator village."

"A demon exterminator village?" Kagome repeated.

Sango nodded. "Yes, and not a lot of people liked me because I was new to exterminating, but I got the hang of it rather quickly. They didn't like that I was that talented since I was a girl. My father and I and some others were called upon when there was a demon to be exterminated. I was very strong. But one day, a numerous amount of demons attacked our village and killed everyone. I was the only survivor."

"Oh Sango, I'm so sorry," said Kagome silently.

"Don't be, Kagome. It wasn't your fault. Besides, they're in a better place and they're with your family. You know how our families were such great friends," Sango said with a smile. Kagome didn't really know how, but Sango always seemed to cheer her up. She smiled back and they reached the inn where the guys were waiting.

"Hurry up!" shouted Inuyasha as he and Miroku walked inside. Kagome and Sango were about to enter when Kirara growled again.

"Oh, come on, Kirara, you can come in!" said Sango. Kirara transformed into her small form and jumped into Sango's open arms. They then entered the inn and went to the room.

"What took you so long?" asked Inuyasha from his seat on the bed as soon as they stepped foot into the room. "And where's the big cat youkai?" he asked inquisitively. Kirara meowed and jumped on Inuyasha's head.

"Oh, so you can transform, huh? That's a pretty neat trick," he said as he picked Kirara off of his head and set it in his lap. He pet it and it purred in response. (AN: I'm really sick of typing 'it' instead of he/she. ::sigh:: Someone, please, tell me if it's a girl or guy, it's killing me!!)

"So tell us of how you two know each other," said Miroku, sitting on the bed next to Inuyasha.

"Well, we were best friends until we were 6. And that's when her family moved," Kagome said simply. "And we haven't seen each other since then until now."

"Why couldn't you tell us that out there?" asked Inuyasha.

Kagome shrugged, and then an idea came to her mind. "Well, I wanted to ask if Sango could come with us!" she exclaimed.

"You did?" questioned Sango, Inuyasha, and Miroku at the same time. Sango's tone was filled with curiosity, Inuyasha's with anger, and Miroku's with hope. (AN: You should all know why Miroku is hopeful that Sango can come. If not, then...well...you probably don't watch the show too often.)

"Yes, I did," stated Kagome.

"No, we already had to think of a new identity for you, it would just be harder with her! No way!" shouted Inuyasha.

"What if we don't change her identity?" asked Miroku.

"What, we're just gonna say she's Kagome's demon exterminator friend?" he asked incredulously. They all nodded. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and turned to face the 3 hopeful faces. He looked down at Kirara who seemed to look hopeful as well.

"Feh! Fine, but she better not get in the way!" said Inuyasha as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.

Shouts of joy were heard as Kagome and Sango hugged each other and jumped up and down with joy. And then Sango stopped.

"Wait, you have a new identity?" Sango questioned Kagome.

Kagome nodded. "I'm Lady Kaitou Hitoride from the far off land of Fumounochi!" she exclaimed. Sango sweat dropped.

"Wasn't that the name of your invisible friend? And isn't that where she was from?" Sango asked.

Kagome sweat dropped. "Well...uh...yeah, but it's a good name!" Everyone fell down, anime style. As they got up, Inuyasha said sarcastically, "Wow, great imagination, Kagome."

Kagome smiled. With her best friend traveling with her, things would be perfect! Sango could hook up with Miroku and Kagome could have Inu-hunk all to her...WAIT! What was she thinking!? 'Oh well, it'll still be fun,' she thought as she looked around at her traveling companions. 'Really fun!'

AN: Well, Sango came in! I tried to write is as best as I could, but I haven't seen my muses, Hinote and Kasai, since my first chapter. I think they went on vacation and took my brain with them! OH WELL!!! I have a poll I want you all to take! I have my own character named Okibi. She's in my other story, "Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts" and I was wondering if I should add her to this story. Please review and tell me what ya think! Time for Reviewer Responses!!!

**MaekoChan-** Yay! You think my story's cool! Thanks for reviewing, here's another chappie!!

**obsessiveIY-psycho-girl92-** I agree, Miroku should have someone and yes, it will be Sango! And she came into the chappie today! And thanks for liking my story and reviewing!

**crazy-kitsune-** Thanks for reviewing, kit! lol, I should put some pixie stix in this story too! lol!

**anonymousey226273-** That's probably the best review I've had! You really think I should have a lot more reviews!? Hehe, thank yas for reviewing!!

**eddie4-** And that's probably the shortest review I've had! lol, ya need more, do ya? Well, here ya go! Enjoy and thanks for reviewing!

**FlameofShadows-** Thanks for checkin out my other story! I thank ya! I'll update as much as possible, keep reviewing!!

**INUs BABE-** I take it back, this might be the shortest review! lol! Of course I'll keep going! Thanks for reviewing!

**Zigi-** First off, that's a cool name! lol! Sounds promising, you say? Well thank ya!! And I'll keep updating! Thanks for reviewing!

Wow, that's a lot of reviewers! I'd like it if there were more, though, so please review!! And tell me if I should bring in Okibi or not!


	4. The Journey Begins

AN: Well, I really didn't feel like updating. Mostly because my last chapter of Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts only got one review...but I decided that that story has nothing to do with this one and I'm getting a lot of reviews for this story. So, even though I have no idea what I'm going to write, I'm writing anyway. Feel special, people! I just hope this chappie turns out good...

Disclaimer: Chapter 1 says it all.

Oh, by the way, this chappie is dedicated to eddie4 for giving me an idea of what to write! Thank ya, eddie4!!!

Last Chapter:

Kagome smiled. With her best friend traveling with her, things would be perfect! Sango could hook up with Miroku and Kagome could have Inu-hunk all to her...WAIT! What was she thinking!? 'Oh well, it'll still be fun,' she thought as she looked around at her traveling companions. 'Really fun!'

**_A Mistake Gone Right_**

**__**

**Chapter 4: ­­­­­­­­­­­The Journey Begins**

"I'm bored," complained Kagome.

"Quit saying that, wench!" shouted Inuyasha. She had been saying that exact thing every 5 minutes since Miroku left with Sango and Kirara to get some royal clothes for Kagome and it was really annoying him.

"I told you, don't call me wench!" shouted back Kagome.

"And why not!?"

"Because, that's not my name and the man the beat me called me that!" she shouted, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Inuyasha flinched. Calling her wench made him just as bad as that other guy. He didn't want Kagome to think of him as a bad guy, he wanted her to think of him as a great guy, as someone she needed, as a ma-hold it! What the heck was he thinking? He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. He walked over to Kagome who had turned her back to him and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. He leaned over so that his mouth was right next to her ear.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you in any way. It's just that I grew up calling girls 'wench' and I'm not used to anything else," he whispered. He loosened his hold and Kagome turned around in his arms and looked into his eyes. The glowing pools of amber seemed to look deep into her soul. She saw deep sincerity in his eyes and it made her happy. She smiled and hugged Inuyasha as she felt his arms tighten around her waist.

"It's ok, Inuyasha. It just brings back bad memories. Just try to call me by my name, ok?" she whispered into his chest.

"Ok," he replied.

"Honey, we're home!" Inuyasha and Kagome quickly jumped away from each other, blushing, as they heard Miroku call out and open the door trailed by Sango and Kirara. Miroku put a bundle of clothes on the bed before turning to Kagome. "I hope you like what we picked out. Sango assured me that you would, so I hope they're to your liking," he explained, oblivious to hers and Inuyasha's blushed.

"Well Sango knows me well, even if we haven't seen each other in 10 years. So I'm sure they'll be all right," she said while walking over to the pile where Sango was eagerly waiting.

"Try this on first!" she said, holding out a beautiful light blue kimono with silver lining. Kagome took it in her hands and examined it. The material was so light and silky. She then examined the design across the lower half of the kimono. It was a big, beautiful silver tree. The detail put into the design was breathtaking. She smiled and looked at her friend.

"This one looks amazing!" she said. Sango smiled.

"Well, go try it on! And when you're done, come try on these other ones!" she yelled as Kagome ran out in the hall to a different room. Sango then glared at the boys. "Maybe you guys should have left so she doesn't have to go running around everywhere," she suggested, or to them, demanded.

"Feh! Fine, we'll go get her and bring her back here," he said as he walked out of the room, dragging a protesting Miroku behind. Sango waited patiently until Kagome walked back in the room. She had already changed into the silk kimono. Sango gasped. Kagome looked so beautiful, and that's just what Sango told her.

"Kagome, you look gorgeous!" she exclaimed. Kirara mewed in agreement as Kagome blushed.

"You really think so? I really don't like dresses to much, but I guess since I'm pretending to be a royal, I'm gonna have to learn to love them, aren't I?" she said as she brushed out some of the few wrinkles. Sango smirked.

"You sure will! Now, here," she said, tossing another kimono to Kagome, "try this one on next." Kagome nodded and took off the blue kimono. She then slipped on the other one and looked down at herself. This kimono was a dark red with black lining. It had a design of a black dragon breathing fire wrapped around it. It was the same material as the blue one. Sango smiled before tossing yet another kimono for her to try on. They were having the time of their lives.

----out in the hall----

Inuyasha paced impatiently as Miroku sat down and closed his eyes. Inuyasha began growling and Miroku half-opened one eye.

"You should probably sit down, it'll be a while before they finish," explained Miroku as he watched the disgruntled hanyou pace back and forth.

"Why are they taking so long!? How many kimonos did you buy, monk?" questioned Inuyasha as he stopped pacing and glared accusingly at his cousin.

"We bought enough to last the week's journey to the Kingdom of Yamakaji. Be patient, Inuyasha. As soon as they're done, we can continue our journey." Inuyasha only growled and continued pacing. Miroku sighed as he again closed his eyes and waited for the girls to finish. As if in answer to his thoughts, the door opened and out stepped Kagome in a gold kimono with white lining and designs of little flowers adorning it. Her hair was pulled up into an elegant bun with a white flower decorating it. Sango followed after her, carrying the other garments in bag, and Kirara on her shoulder. Inuyasha stopped pacing and turned around. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Kagome. She looked amazing! But he'd be damned if he let her know that.

"What took ya so long, we-I mean, Kagome?" he asked, catching himself before he could say wench.

"Sorry, I had to try on all of them to make sure they fit. And remember, from now on, I'm not Kagome; I'm Lady Kaitou Hitoride of Fumounochi," she exclaimed with a bright smile on her face.

"Ok, _Lady Kaitou_, we're leaving now," Inuyasha said, accenting the 'Lady Kaitou' part. Kagome only smiled and nodded as they left the inn, saying a quick goodbye to Kaede.

"How long will it take to get wherever we're going?" asked Kagome.

"About a week," replied Inuyasha.

"A week? We're going to be walking for a week!?" she exclaimed.

"Yes, so you better get used to it."

"Why don't we get horses?" suggested Miroku. Inuyasha stopped and turned around, causing everyone else to stop as well. He studied the group. He knew that he could walk the whole time, no problem, and Miroku could walk it too, although he might tire out before the end of the week. Sango looked like she could do it, but he didn't want to take any chances. He knew Kagome wouldn't be able to do it, especially with those royal clothes on.

"Fine, we'll get horses," he replied as he walked to a nearby stable, his group in tow. He approached a man with black, wavy hair. He looked like the owner of the stable.

"Are you selling any horses?" asked Inuyasha. The man turned around to face him. Kagome suddenly felt uneasy around this man. Inuyasha glanced back at his group. They all looked uneasy and cautious. Inuyasha turned back to the man.

"Yes, I am," he said in a cold voice. "How many do you need?"

"Two," Inuyasha immediately responded. Kagome suddenly forgot her uneasiness and glared at Inuyasha.

"Only two? Inuyasha, there's four of us!" she exclaimed.

"I know that, Kag-Kaitou!" he replied, not taking his eyes off this man before him.

"Oh, you're Inuyasha? It's a pleasure to meet you," the man said, holding out his hand.

"You may know my name, but I don't know yours," said Inuyasha, ignoring his outstretched hand.

The man chuckled. It sounded hollow. "Kukukukuku, excuse my manners. I am Naraku," he said with his hand still outstretched. Inuyasha warily grabbed his hand. The second he grabbed it, he felt an evil aura. He took back his hand as if it had been burned. Naraku walked further into the stable and came back with two black horses.

"Here, these are 2 of my best," he said, handing the reins over to Inuyasha who was careful not to touch the man again.

"How much do you want for them?" Inuyasha asked, reaching in his pocket for some money.

"No need, you can take them for free. I'm sure I will need a favor later, though," he replied. Inuyasha couldn't help but feel that this favor couldn't be a good one. "When your journey is over, come back here and I will tell you what you can do for me." Inuyasha ignored him and walked out of the stable, pushing his group as he went. Naraku watched the group retreat. 'So you're the infamous Inuyasha. Kukukukuku. We will meet again, Inuyasha,' he thought as he vanished from the stable.

After they were a reasonable distance from the stable, everyone seemed to let out a breath they didn't realize they were holding. Kagome turned to Inuyasha and glared.

"Why did you only get two horses!?" she yelled. Inuyasha turned to her.

"Before I answer that, tell me, have you ever ridden a horse in your life?" he asked smugly. Kagome looked surprised.

"Well...no, but I didn't think it would be that hard!" she said, looking down at the ground.

"Well, it is, especially if it's your first time. We're going to share the horses," he explained as he stopped. Everyone stopped as well. Inuyasha threw one of the reins over to Miroku. "Miroku, you and Sango get that horse. Kagome and me have this one," he said, climbing up onto the horse. Miroku nodded and Sango glared at Inuyasha. Miroku climbed up on the horse and offered his hand to Sango. She refused and climbed up by herself, situating herself behind Miroku. Inuyasha offered his hand to Kagome who took it. He gently pulled her up and she sat behind him.

"Ready?" he called out. As a response, Kagome wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's stomach and Miroku and Sango nodded. Inuyasha smiled. "All right, let's go! Hya!" he yelled, lightly kicking the horse in the side as a command to go. The horse responded and began running with Miroku's and Sango's horse following. Kagome tightened her hold around Inuyasha. Inuyasha smirked as he urged his horse faster. Miroku and Sango caught up with them. Inuyasha looked over at Miroku and winked. Miroku winked back as Sango tightened her hold on him as the horses ran even faster. A fallen tree was coming up and the horses expertly jumped over it causing Kagome to emit a small squeak of fright. They traveled like this for a couple hours before the sun began to set. Miroku looked over at Inuyasha who nodded. They slowed the horses down to a stop in a clearing of the forest they had been traveling through. Inuyasha looked back at Kagome and smiled. She was fast asleep. He looked over at Miroku and saw he was in the same situation. Inuyasha began thinking of ways he could get Kagome off the horse without waking her. He carefully climbed down, making sure she didn't fall. Then he gently picked her up and sat her against a tree. Miroku followed suit, setting Sango against a different tree. Inuyasha took the reins of both horses and tied them to a nearby tree branch. Miroku picked up Sango and put her in his lap as he sat against a tree and fell asleep. Inuyasha shook his head, knowing Sango would be in a bad mood when she woke up. But Miroku did have a good idea, so he followed suit, setting Kagome in his lap as he leaned his back against a tree. He kissed her forehead.

"Good night, my Kagome," he whispered as he slowly fell asleep, oblivious to the evil lurking not too far away.

"That's right, Inuyasha, sleep," Naraku muttered as he looked into Kanna's mirror. He waved his hand and the image of the sleeping group disappeared.

"Kagura," he said into the room. A wind youkai stepped out of the shadows. Her dark hair was in a bun, adorned with feathers. She held a fan in her hand as she approached Naraku and Kanna.

"Yes, Naraku?" she asked.

"Bring back my horses. They will be much easier to attack when they're on foot," he ordered.

"Yes, Naraku," she said as she bowed and backed away. She walked out of the castle and threw one of the feathers from her hair up and jumped on it as it grew in size. Naraku watched her fly away.

"Kanna," he said to other youkai. She simply stepped forward. She looked like a mere child and had white skin that matched her white clothes and white hair. Her eyes, though, were pure black.

"I want you to make sure Kagura does her job properly," he said as he waved her away. The youkai backed away and turned her mirror to her. She brought up an image of Kagura flying on her feather.

"Soon, Inuyasha, you will be dead," said Naraku to the empty room. He laughed as he held up a black jewel. "And to think, this used to be a pure jewel. Well now the Shikon no Tama belongs to me and I will have absolute power."

AN: Sorry it's so short guys. I wanted to make it longer, but if I did that, then I wouldn't be able to update till tomorrow because that's all I could think of for right now. I promise to make the next one longer. And I'll try to update sooner, too. Ok, time for Reviewer Responses.

**Rhonda-** Thanks for reminding me to update. Here's the next chapter!

**michael**- Well, thank ya much. Of course I'll email you when I update. Anything for a reviewer!

**Outlaw-Lanaya-** Thanks for the info. I was never sure if Kirara was a boy or girl! Thanks for reviewing!

**eddie4**- Thanks so much for the idea! This chappie is dedicated to you! Thanks for reviewing!

**hanyou punk chick**- Thanks for telling me! Here's the next chappie!

**obsessiveIY-psycho-girl92**- Yes, braces are evil! I had them myself some time ago! The brackets kept popping off coz I was a bad girl. hehe. Anyway! Thanks for telling me Kirara's a girl. I don't know how they had cosmetics either! O.o Thanks for reviewing!!!

Well, that's all for now. Nobody told me if they wanted Okibi in this story or not, though! Please, tell me people. She's in my other story, but I don't know if I want to put her in this one. Review and tell me, please!? Well, again, sorry for lateness and shortness. I get distracted easily, so I just need a reminder every now and then. And before I forget, thanks to crazy-kitsune for being my beta reader!! THANK YA, KIT!!


	5. New Friends, New Enemies

AN: Well...I didn't really wanna update today coz I just updated Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts the other day (SFSFH for short). But, alas my reviewers have persuaded me to do so. I'm afraid they'll start a revolt and storm my house for not updating, so here's the new chapter which I have no idea what it will be about! That's the price to pay for updating earlier than wanted. Sowwie!

Disclaimer: Some of you are expecting me to say I don't own Inuyasha, and that's what I'm sposed to do, but I have good news...I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico! BWAHAHAHAHAHA, sorry couldn't resist!

NOTICE: I now have a notify list! Just follow the link, enter your email and press go! ok? Alrighty then! And if this link doesn't work, it's also in my profile!!!

And sorry if there's a bunch of mistakes. I sent it to my beta reader but I didn't feel like waiting till she responded, so I went ahead and updated. SORRY KIT!!! Hehe.

Last Chapter:

"I want you to make sure Kagura does her job properly," he said as he waved her away. The youkai backed away and turned her mirror to her. She brought up an image of Kagura flying on her feather.

"Soon, Inuyasha, you will be dead," said Naraku to the empty room. He laughed as he held up a black jewel. "And to think, this used to be a pure jewel. Well now the Shikon no Tama belongs to me and I will have absolute power."

**_A Mistake Gone Right_**

**__**

**Chapter 5: New Friends, New Enemies**

Kagome suddenly awoke, hearing a loud yell that sounded oddly like "HENTAI," to her sleep-fogged mind. She opened her eyes and saw Sango standing over an unconscious Miroku with Hiraikotsu in her hand. She looked rather angry but was blushing at the same time. Kagome realized she felt extremely warm and looked for the source. She found it soon enough and discovered that Inuyasha's haori was on top of her, yet said person was nowhere to be found. She stood up, keeping the haori wrapped around her. She began stretching and yawning when Sango realized she was awake.

"Hey Kagome, how'd you sleep?" she asked with a smile as she put Hiraikotsu back on her back. Kirara mewed as she jumped onto Sango's shoulder.

"Pretty good for sleeping under the stars," she said with an equal smile. "How about you?"

Judging by Sango's suddenly twitching eye, she should not have asked that question. "Ask him," was all she said as she jerked her thumb in Miroku's direction and stormed into the forest.

"Wait, where are you going?" asked a startled Kagome to the retreating Sango.

Sango didn't stop or turn as she answered, "To help Inuyasha find breakfast." And with that, she was lost to Kagome's sight. Kagome decided since Inuyasha and Sango were hunting food, she would start a fire to cook it. She left Miroku alone in the clearing, intent on finding some firewood. She walked into the forest, picking up sticks and such when she heard rustling in the trees above her. She ignored it, thinking it was probably just a bird or something. But when the thing from the treetops landed directly in front of her, she knew it was no bird.

"What are you doing in this forest?" asked the ball of fluff.

"I'm gathering firewood," Kagome responded, knowing the small youkai was no threat.

The little demon looked Kagome over, as if sizing her up. At first he was a little hesitant about her, but then he realized that she wasn't a threat.

"Would you like some help?" he was asked with a big smile on his face.

"Sure, that'd be great!" she replied. "By the way, my name's Kag-uh...Kaitou," she said, almost forgetting about hiding her identity.

"I'm Shippou!" he said, puffing out his chest. "And I'm a powerful kitsune youkai!" he added.

"Pleased to meet you Shippou," she said as he jumped up on her shoulder.

"Are you a royal?" questioned Shippou with wide eyes as he looked her over. She was wearing an expensive looking kimono under a just as expensive haori that looked to be too big for her.

"Uh...yes," she replied, making sure to keep up her fake identity.

"What's a royal doing in the forest?" pondered Shippou out loud.

"We're just passing through. It's quicker through the forest."

"We?" repeated Shippou with interest.

"Yes, I'm traveling in a group with 3 other people," she explained. Shippou decided that was enough information as they traveled through the forest, finishing collecting the firewood. Suddenly Kagome stopped and looked around, not recognizing her surroundings.

"What's wrong, Kaitou?" asked Shippou, sensing her uneasiness.

"Well...uh...I can't remember which way it is to get back to camp," she said a little shakily.

"Is the person who owns that haori you're wearing at the camp?" asked Shippou with a smirk.

"Uh...he went out to get food, but he might be back now," replied Kagome.

"Good," said Shippou as he began sniffing Inuyasha's haori. Kagome was about to ask what he was doing when he suddenly pointed to the left.

"That way," he said assuredly.

Kagome went in the pointed direction and within 10 minutes, they were back at the campsite where Sango and a very annoyed looking Inuyasha were waiting.

"Oi, wench, where were you? You could have been killed, you know that? Do you know what kind of demons are out there? Why didn't you take Miroku? What is that thing on your shoulder?" he bombarded her with questions as she came within sight.

"I was out gathering firewood and I was very aware of the consequences. I know what kinds of youkai are out there and Miroku was unconscious when I left. And this is Shippou, he helped me find the way back," she said, answering all his questions one by one. The said kitsune jumped off Kagome's shoulder onto Inuyasha's head.

"Why'd you call Kaitou a wench, you meanie?" he yelled while pulling on the hanyou's ears.

"Get off, ya little runt!" said Inuyasha as he pulled the kit off his head and threw him on the ground. As soon as he got up, Shippou hid behind an angry Kagome's legs.

"Be nice to him, Inuyasha. If it weren't for him, I'd still be wandering around in the forest instead of here, safe and sound!" she yelled while dropping the firewood and taking off his haori. When she finished, she threw it at him and proceeded to attempt to start a fire. Inuyasha just Feh'd and jumped in a tree branch. Miroku was leaning against a tree, deep in thought and Sango was searching for something in the clearing. After several minutes of failed attempts at lighting a fire, Shippou spoke up.

"Need some help?" he questioned as he stepped from behind her.

"Yeah, I do," she responded as she put down the sticks she had been working with. Shippou smirked and performed one of his attacks.

"Foxfire," he said as Kagome stared in wonder at the now lit firewood. Before Kagome could question any further, Sango interrupted.

"Where are our horses?" At this question, Inuyasha looked down and saw that they were indeed gone. He jumped from his perch and ran into the woods, leaving the 4 confused companions (five if you count Kirara). He came back minutes later as fast as he had left.

"They're not in the woods anywhere," he reported, referring to the previously mentioned horses. Everyone looked at each other, pondering the same question. What force of nature would have kidnapped their horses?

----Naraku's castle----

Kagura had returned about an hour after she had left the night before, her job having been completed. Naraku had commended her on the job, but afterwards scolded her on the amount of time taken. She had scoffed and walked away, awaiting the next time she would be needed, which would be sooner than expected.

Naraku now gazed into Kanna's mirror, much like he had the previous day. He surveyed the confused group and chuckled evilly.

"Kukukukuku, they are now a much easier target on foot." (AN: Sorry guys, kyuuka has no idea what she's typing...she just had a really good idea for her other story so she wants to write that one, but I'm not gonna till I finish updating this one.) Naraku looked at one of wooden puppets with a smirk. He returned his attention to Kanna's mirror to see the action that was soon to begin.

----The clearing with Inu's group----

Inuyasha froze, sniffing the air intently. Seeing this, Shippou also sniffed the air and immediately paled with fear.

"A big youkai's coming this way!" he shouted while jumping on Kagome's shoulder, shaking with fear.

Kagome, Sango, and Miroku looked to Inuyasha for confirmation. He nodded and unsheathed the sword at his side, immediately transforming it. Sango and Miroku took the hint and she pulled Hiraikotsu off her back while Miroku held his staff in front of him. Kirara jumped off Sango's shoulder and onto the ground in front of her, transforming into her large cat form. Kagome, having nothing to do, backed away to give the fighters some room. Soon the large youkai made its way to the clearing. It looked like a mix between a bear and a wild boar. It had the head of a boar but the body of a bear. The claws and tusks looked very deadly. Appearing behind the strange youkai was another youkai. It was a wind youkai, known to us as Kagura, but to the group she was unknown.

"If you surrender now, your death just might be painless," she said with a threatening voice.

"Who the hell are you and why would we surrender?" snarled Inuyasha.

"I am Kagura, a servant of Naraku's. Naraku plans to kill you one way or another, so I suggest giving yourselves up," she explained.

"Naraku, the stable boy?" questioned Inuyasha incredulously.

"He's more than just a stable boy. He took on that guise to find you. You see, you are an obstacle on his path to supreme ruler," she explained, but Inuyasha swore he could sense a faint trace of resentment in her voice.

"And I suppose you're one of his minions? Doing everything he tells you because he promised you a share of this 'supreme' ruling?" Inuyasha taunted, hoping to get more information out of her.

She scoffed, "I'm not doing this to gain anything except my life. He holds my heart and if I refuse him, he'll kill me in an instant." That sentence was fully dripping with resentment and Inuyasha knew that she didn't want to work for the scumbag.

"Feh! I didn't want to know your life story!" he ground out, "I just wanted a reason for this attack. But if you're still going to attack, I guess I have no choice but to kill you."

Kagura narrowed her eyes while turning around and walking away, leaving the bear/boar demon to kill the group. Inuyasha growled and held up Tetsusaiga.

"Where do you think you're going? I'm not through with you yet," he yelled. She stopped but didn't turn around.

"My job was to guide this youkai to you, not fight you. My job here is done, so I'm leaving," she said and pulled out her feather from her hair. She threw it in the air and jumped on it, making her way back to Naraku's castle.

As soon as she was out of sight, the youkai attacked, slashing its claws in Inuyasha's direction. He dodged easily, noting how slow the beast was. He slashed Tetsusaiga at it and got a direct hit and cut off one of its front legs. But to his surprise, it regenerated! Inuyasha was taken aback and therefore hesitated. The youkai then attacked Miroku, who failed to dodge because of his own surprise. Miroku only managed to put a hand up in defense. One of the youkai's claws went right through his right hand and caused it to bleed profusely. While Miroku cradled his injured hand, Sango flung Hiraikotsu at him, cutting off another of his legs which again regenerated. She caught the boomerang as it came back to her.

"Inuyasha," called Kagome, gaining his attention, "His forehead is growing with a strange light," she said, obviously confused. Inuyasha focused his attention back to the youkai. He couldn't see the glowing, but it was worth a shot. He swung his Tetsusaiga downward, yelling "KAZE NO KIZU!" His wound of the wind attack caught the youkai in the head and he disintegrated. Where the youkai used to be was a wooden puppet cut in half and a small black jewel shard. Inuyasha walked over to the items while Sango and Kagome helped bandage Miroku as best as they could. Unfortunately, they had no bandages, so all they could do was apply pressure to the wound. Shippou and Kirara looked on worriedly. Inuyasha picked up the items but immediately dropped the shard. It seemed it had shocked him or something. Kagome came over, wondering what the items were.

"What are those?" she asked.

"I don't know, but that black thing shocked me," he replied, pointing to shard on the ground. Kagome looked at him in skepticism before bending over to pick up the shard. As soon as she touched it, it turned pink and began glowing.

"This shocked you?" she asked, holding it in front of her. He looked in amazement at the tiny pink jewel.

"But...But wasn't that just black?" he queried. She shrugged.

"I don't know, but if it made that youkai regenerate, it must be powerful. We should probably keep it," she advised, depositing it in a small gold pouch hanging from her kimono. They then walked back to Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kirara. When they reached him, something strange happened. The hole made by the youkai in his hand began to slowly then faster suck in air. The group backed away from him, not knowing what to do. Miroku seemed just as perplexed, before thinking of something to do. He pulled out some prayer beads from his robes and quickly enchanted them, putting them on his hand. It got the desired effect, keeping the hole from sucking in anything. He studied his hand. 'Well at least it's not bleeding anymore,' he thought grimly. He knew it had to be the work of some dark magic.

"Wha-what just happened?" queried Sango.

"I-I don't know, but there are dark forces at work," he responded before noticing the two wooden pieces in Inuyasha's hand. "What are those?" he said, unknowingly repeating Kagome's question. Inuyasha looked at his hand before passing the items to Miroku.

"I found these where the youkai was when he disintegrated," he explained. Kagome began digging in her pouch for the jewel shard. She took it out and passed it to Miroku.

"This was there too. Inuyasha said it was black and it shocked him though before I picked it up," she said.

Miroku studied the wooden items first. "This is a puppet to control demons," he explained. "It's cut in half because we defeated the youkai it controlled." He then studied the jewel shard closely. "But this...this is...no...it can't be!" he exclaimed.

"What?" asked a curious Shippou, jumping on Kagome's shoulder to get a better view.

"This appears to be a shard of the Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls," he explained. "But if what you said is true about being black and shocking Inuyasha, then an evil entity must have it in their possession. The Shikon no Tama is a very powerful jewel and is deadly when in the wrong hands. Unfortunately, it appears to already be in the wrong hands," he said grimly.

"But they can't have the whole jewel," argued Kagome, "because we have this shard. If this Naraku guy only has part of it, it can't be as powerful as it is when it's whole."

"That's correct, but if just one shard was that powerful, just think of how powerful the nearly completed jewel must be. I'm afraid we're in danger," he said solemnly, looking at his injured hand. If this was just the beginning, he was afraid to think of what was to come.

----Naraku's castle----

Naraku watched the fight with a smirk. So far, Inuyasha and his friends were losing. One of them had even gained a hole in their hand. But then that girl with the kitsune, she had told Inuyasha where the jewel shard was located and he had killed the youkai. He then watched as the girl picked up the shard and purified it! 'So...the girl's a miko,' he thought. 'No matter, I will just have to continue with my plan. No girl is going to stop me.' He then smirked as he tightened his grip on the remaining Shikon no Tama. He watched desired effect as the hole in the man's hand began to suck in air. Unfortunately he was smart enough to enchant some prayer bead to seal the hole for the time being. He waved his hand at Kanna, implementing that her job was done. The image faded from the mirror as Kagura walked in. He didn't bother to look at her as he spoke.

"The youkai failed to kill Inuyasha," he said simply.

"I told you that you underestimated him," she growled, knowing he would say it was her fault. Naraku scowled and picked up an item, giving it a small squeeze. Kagura cried out in pain.

"Do not forget that I own you. I could kill you in an instant so remember your place." Kagura narrowed her eyes as Naraku released his hold on her. "Go. Find the miko girl he travels with and bring her to me, she could prove very useful," he said as she made her leave.

AN: Another chappie down. That was better than I'd hoped! . Go me! BWAHAHAHAHAHA ::ahem:: Anyway, sorry it took a week to get out. And before some of you exit out without reviewing, STOP RIGHT THERE!!!! YOU MUST TAKE A VOTE!!!!! I want your opinion!! Don't look at me like that, it's just a simple poll, all you have to write is 'yes' or 'no' okay? It's not that hard for all you simple-minded people like me out there. Okay, the question is, should Okibi be in this story? Okibi is my character. If you read my other story, SFSFH, then you'll find her in there. It develops her character and gives a pretty good description. So, PLEASE give me your opinion. Okay? TANKYA!! Onto Reviewer Responses!!!

**Lil kat**- Hehe, sorry this chappie took so long! Thanks for getting me back on track and keep reviewing and VOTE!!!!

**Catkit**- Yay, you love my story! BWAHAHAHAHA, I feel special. I've been told by everyone that Kirara's a girl, so I just went with that. Don't know if that helps any, but I sure hope it does! You even put me as a fav author and fav story!? Wow! ::sniffle, sniffle:: kyuuka feels so loved! Oh and btw...I LOVE SUGAR TOO!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! VOTE PLEASE!

**unknown**- Well the later chappies are usually posted whenever I get around to typing them. Hehe, sorry, I procrastinate! Sorry it took a week, but here's the next chappie! Hope ya like and please review!!! AND VOTE!!

**Xessive**- Naraku does NOT seem like a pervert with the mirror!! He seems like an evil guy!! GAH! geez cheesecake, is your brain broken or something? BWAHAHAHAHAHA, just kiddin! Yay!!! You gave me ramen!!!! ::eats all the ramen in 2 seconds flat:: More would be nice!! REVIEW, CHEESECAKE!!!! you know you want to! VOTE, CHEESECAKE, VOTE I SAY!!!

**crazy-kitsune**- My psychopathic beta reader, what would I do without you!? Besides not having my ramen stolen and not having someone to piss off the creepy guys that try to talk to me...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Anyway, even if you're my beta, you gotta review anyway!!!!! kit, you gotta VOTE too. hehe.

**obsessiveIY-psycho-girl92**- Hey, I rememorized your name! BWAHAHAHHAHA!!!! Yes, clowns are very evil!!! Especially the ones in Poltergeist!!! ::shudders:: And, yeah, they probably made cosmetics out of flowers and stuff, but anywho, here's another chappie!!! review please!! and remember to VOTE!!

**michael**- sorry I didn't email you last time. I actually DID email but I guess something happened and you didn't get it. evil computers!!!! anyway, I'll try again and I hope you get it this time. Anyway, please review and VOTE!!!! thank ya berry much!!

Well, that's it...7 reviews. That's pretty good if I do say so myself! Please remember to review and VOTE people!!! please?? The first 10 people to vote get ramen and an email sent to you as a notification of when I update my next chapter!!!! That's a pretty good deal if I do say so myself!! Ready...and....GO!!!


	6. Journey Ends, Trouble Begins

AN: Well here I am again. Miss me? ...What do you mean no? ::grumbles:: mean reviewers... ::dodges randomly thrown objects:: HEY! I still gotta write the chappie!! ::throwing stops...for now:: whew, that's better. On with the story!

NOTE: I can no longer put smilies in the story coz wont let me! yes, it's sad, but oh well i guess.

Disclaimer: Hmmmm, who should do the disclaimer today? Hinote and Kasai haven't done it in a while! HINOTE!!! KASAI!!! Your turn to do the disclaimer!  
::Hinote and Kasai come out::  
Hinote: Do we gotta?  
Kasai: Yeah, this is stupid.  
kyuuka: Yes, you hafta, now do it!!  
Hinote: Fine…  
Kasai: Whatever…  
Hinote: kyuuka doesn't own Inuyasha and gang.  
Kasai: But she owns us.  
Hinote: And this notify list…  
Kasai: http: / kyuuka-kit. notifylist. com/ amgr.html (fill in spaces)  
Hinote: So sign up if you want to be notified of when she updates.  
Kasai: And review after you read this chappie.  
kyuuka: Very nice! Good muses!

Last Chapter:

"I told you that you underestimated him," she growled, knowing he would say it was her fault. Naraku scowled and picked up an item, giving it a small squeeze. Kagura cried out in pain.

"Do not forget that I own you. I could kill you in an instant so remember your place." Kagura narrowed her eyes as Naraku released his hold on her. "Go. Find the miko girl he travels with and bring her to me, she could prove very useful," he said as she made her leave.

**_A Mistake Gone Right_**

**__**

**Chapter 6: Journey Ends, Trouble Begins**

Inuyasha's group had packed everything and was ready for the long walk through the forest.

"It's going to take forever to get out of the forest on foot," noted Kagome. Inuyasha looked over to her and then the rest of the group. They all looked weary from the battle, so they wouldn't be able to get far. They only ones who looked fit enough to travel were Kirara and Shippou...and himself of course. He studied Kirara as she playfully chased a butterfly.

"Sango, Kirara can transform can't she?" asked Inuyasha. Sango looked over at Inuyasha and then at Kirara.

"Yes, she can," she replied.

"How many people can she carry?"

"Two or three," said Sango, finally getting what he was trying to say.

"You, Miroku, and Shippou ride Kirara. I can carry Kag-Kaitou," Inuyasha commanded. Sango nodded and turned back to Kirara.

"Kirara," she said. The cat came up to her and transformed. Sango climbed on and picked up Shippou, Miroku got on behind her. Inuyasha turned to Kagome and crouched down a little.

"Get on," he said. Kagome just stared at him confused. Inuyasha turned his head around to look at her. "We don't have all day, it's not safe here. We have to go now, so get on," he repeated. Kagome nodded and climbed on his back. Inuyasha stood up and held onto her legs so she wouldn't fall as they ran through the forest. "Follow me," he yelled back to the others as he began running. First Kagome felt lightheaded and scared but as time wore on she found that she rather liked this form of travel. The sun began to sink lower into the sky and Kagome was getting hungry. They hadn't been able to eat breakfast because of that stupid youkai and now it was almost dinner time!

"Inuyasha, I'm kinda hungry," she said weakly. She was also getting pretty tired.

At first, he was going to retort but when his own stomach rumbled, he decided eating would be a good idea. "We'll stop at the next clearing," he said. Soon enough, they arrived at a small clearing in the woods and Inuyasha slowed to a stop. Not long after, Kirara stopped too.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Miroku, slightly worried.

"Food," was all Inuyasha said as he put Kagome down and ran off into the forest in search of food. Sango and Miroku got off Kirara and picked up Shippou who had fallen asleep. Miroku put him next a tree while Kirara turned back to her cute, cuddly form. She curled up next to Shippou and fell asleep.

"Hey Sango, I wanna go find a hot springs to take a bath. Wanna come with me?" she asked. Sango smiled brightly.

"Yeah!" she all but screamed, waking Shippou and Kirara.

"Wait, I better come with you, to, uh, protect you," said Miroku with a phony innocent look on his face. Kagome and Sango stared deadpan at him before smacking him.

"You better stay here, to watch Shippou and Kirara," said Sango to the crumbled heap of Miroku on the ground. "Come on, Kaitou," she said, pulling Kagome away, leaving Miroku and the 2 half asleep demons in the clearing. They walked in comfortable silence, keeping an eye out for a nearby hot springs. About 15 minutes into their little trek, they stumbled onto a small secluded hot springs. Kagome was about to quickly shed her clothes and jump in when they heard rustling in the bushes. Sango held her hand out, signaling Kagome to stay there and be quiet as she tip-toed over to the bushes. When she got near them, a hand quickly shot out and grabbed her, pulling her into the bushes.

"SANGO!!" Kagome yelled. Two figures suddenly rose out of the bushes. She recognized one as Kagura from before. Kagura was holding onto Sango's hair with a knife up to her neck.

"Come with me quietly and she goes free," said Kagura calmly. Kagome's eyes darted first to her captured friend who was wincing in pain, but giving her a look that said 'You go with her and I'll personally kill you,' and to Kagura who looked dead serious about her threat. She made up her mind.

"I will, but let me talk to Sango first," said Kagome softly. Kagura released Sango, knowing Kagome knew the consequences of running away without being told what they were. Kagome quickly pulled Sango into an embrace. "Take the jewel and tell Inuyasha what happened," Kagome whispered so softly into Sango's ear that Kagura had a hard time hearing what was being said. Kagome slipped the jewel to Sango.

"Be safe," Sango said, holding back tears. Who knew what they would do to Kagome? Kagome managed a sad smile.

"I will," she said, a little louder this time. She pulled out of the embrace and walked over to Kagura. She gave a small nod, signaling she was ready. Kagura pulled the feather from her hair and threw it in the air. She jumped, holding onto her hostage, and landed gracefully on the feather that would take them back to Naraku's castle.

Sango wasted no time in running back to the clearing. She arrived and saw Inuyasha had come back and looked worried. Miroku looked even more worried as he studied Sango's appearance. She was dirty, sweaty and crying and Kagome hadn't come back with her.

"What's wrong!? Where's Kagome!?" shouted an angry Inuyasha, completely forgetting to call Kagome Kaitou around Shippou.

"Who's Kagome?" asked Shippou. His question went ignored however as Sango answered Inuyasha.

"Ka-Kagome w-was...sh-she was...ki-kidnapped!!" managed a panting Sango.

"By who!? Who took her!?" yelled Inuyasha as he went up to Sango and shook her shoulders.

"Inuyasha, give her time," said a stern Miroku. Inuyasha looked back at the monk and realized he was right. Now was the time to panic...but they had to find Kagome!

"Kagura...Kagura took her," she said. She held out the jewel shard. "Kagome slipped this to me before she was taken though. She...She didn't want Naraku to have it," she finished placing the shard in Inuyasha's hand and roughly falling to the floor from exhaustion. Inuyasha growled as he looked at the jewel in his hand. Where was Naraku hiding? How were they gonna find him? How were they gonna find Kagome!? Inuyasha clenched his fists and growled louder when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Inuyasha, I know you want to find Kagome but we have no way of finding Naraku's castle. Naraku must have taken her in order to get to you. Let him find you," explained Miroku, hoping against hope that he was right and Naraku would give them a chance to get her back instead of killing her right away. Inuyasha stared at the ground, letting his bangs shield his eyes from his friends. Shippou and Kirara had gone back to sleep and Sango had managed to stand up again. She was looking guiltily at the ground.

"Why'd she have to do that?" Sango whispered softly to herself.

"Do what?" asked Inuyasha, now looking at Sango. Sango immediately looked away.

"Kagome and I were looking for a hot springs. We heard rustling in the bushes so I went to check it out. Kagura grabbed onto me and threatened to kill me if Kagome didn't go with her..." she said, unshed tears rolling down her face. Miroku walked over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Sango, it's not your fault. Kagome might still be alive, but if she hadn't gone, you wouldn't be here and Kagura would've taken Kagome anyway," Miroku said, rubbing her back in a comforting way. Normally Sango would've knocked him unconscious by this time, but all she could think was that it was her fault that Kagome had been captured. Miroku looked over at Inuyasha, wondering what his reaction to this new information was. Inuyasha was sitting against the base of a tree, staring off into space, probably thinking of ways to get Kagome back. Sango soon stopped crying and her breathing became deep. Miroku carefully carried her to the ground where Shippou and Kirara were sleeping and placed her on the ground. He then walked over to Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, you know we have to continue our journey. It wouldn't do anybody good to stay in this forest, especially not Kagome," Miroku tried reasoning with him. Inuyasha sighed.

"I know...but if she somehow escapes and comes back to the forest and we're not here..." he trailed off. Anything could happen. She could get killed by a youkai, Naraku could find her again and this time, kill her.

"Don't worry about it. She's a smart girl. She'll either head back to her own village or follow us to the kingdom of Yamakaji," he reasoned.

"We didn't tell her where we were going," retorted Inuyasha. At least he didn't think they did. He couldn't remember. Miroku just shook his head, laid down and quickly fell asleep. Inuyasha, however, couldn't sleep. He kept thinking of what Naraku might do to Kagome. He shook his head to rid it of those thoughts. Nothing's gonna happen, he tried telling himself. But there was a part of him that didn't believe him.

----Naraku's castle----

Naraku watched in pleasure as Kagura entered the room with the miko behind her. The miko looked very frightened. 'As she should,' thought Naraku with a sadistic glint in his eye.

"Welcome to my castle, miko," he said, gaining her attention. She quickly stepped in front of Kagura so nothing obstructed her view of him.

"What do you want with me?" she questioned, snarling at him.

"Kukukukuku, you, my friend, are going to help me kill Inuyasha," he said, as if it were an everyday thing.

"I will do nothing of the sort!!!" she screamed at him, restraining herself from strangling the man from even suggesting that.

"Oh but you will if you wish to keep your other friends alive," he said cryptically.

Kagome instantly looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked carefully.

"You must choose who you wish to live...Inuyasha, or Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara," he said smiling.

"How do you know their names!?" she asked bewildered.

"I know many things, Kagome," he answered.

"What if I don't want either of them to die?" she asked with hatred in her eyes.

"Then I'll just kill all of them," he said casually. Kagome drew in a sharp breath. How was she going to save all her friends? How was she going to warn them!? Kagome narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her.

"What can I do to save them?" she asked.

"I was hoping you would ask..."

----Inu's group----

Inuyasha opened to see the sun rising slowly above the trees. He didn't remember falling asleep, but he was probably more tired than he thought.

"Inuyasha, you're finally awake," said Miroku from the campfire. He, Sango, Shippou, and Kirara were eating cooked fish and seemed to be in better spirits than yesterday. Inuyasha grumbled and walked over to the group. Sango handed him a plate of fish. Inuyasha quickly ate the fish. He was feeling better, but he was still worried about Kagome. After they had all eaten, they continued on their journey. Miroku, Sango, Shippou still rode Kirara and Inuyasha led the way. They traveled quickly and reached the edge of the forest by noon. Inuyasha took one last glance at the forest before they continued. The kingdom of Yamakaji wasn't far away and they would reach it in a few hours' time.

Sure enough, 3 hours later, the group arrived at the kingdom's gates. They walked through the city, slowly making their way to their destination. Inuyasha remembered the reason for coming. His father wanted him to meet a stupid princess or something. He had been worried that his son would never settle down with a suitable lady and have children of his own. Inuyasha scoffed as they reached the castle gates. The guards looked over the group's messy appearance.

"What's your business here?" questioned one of the guards.

"I am Lord Inuyasha," he started, "this is my cousin, Lord Miroku, Lady Sango, her pet, Kirara, and Shippou," he explained, pointing to each in turn. The guard scoffed in response.

"You really expect us to believe you're Lord Inuyasha?" asked the other guard incredulously. Inuyasha growled. He was about to fight his way through when a voice stopped him.

"It is indeed Lord Inuyasha...let them through," said the new voice. The group walked through the gate and came face to face with a woman. Inuyasha noticed she looked similar to Kagome, but there were a few differences. Her black hair was longer and straighter. She didn't have the look of innocence Kagome had. Her eyes didn't have the spark Kagome's had either. These new brown eyes looked cold and dead. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Kikyou," she said, slightly smiling. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. This was the princess his father wanted him to meet. "Come with me. You look very weary from your long journey," she said, motioning them to follow. The did, following her across the castle grounds before coming to a large door that seemed to open on its own, but was really opened by servants guarding the door.

"We already have 2 other guests, but we were forewarned of your arrival," she went on, stopping in the front hallway. "The servants will show you to your rooms and to the bathhouses," she said walking away. As she left, 4 servants came and introduced themselves.

"I am Amai and I will be your servant," said the female servant, bowing in front of Sango.

"I am Karuson and I will be your servant," the male servant bowed in front of Miroku.

"I am Kijo and I will be you servant," the servant introduced, bowing in front of Shippou.

"But I don't want my own room!" protested Shippou.

"Shippou will stay in my room," said Inuyasha softly. Miroku and Sango looked at him in worry; he wasn't acting like himself at all. Shippou's servant bowed once more in understanding before leaving.

"I am Reiu and I will be your servant," Inuyasha's servant quietly introduced. Inuyasha nodded as Shippou jumped on his shoulder. The servants led them each to their rooms. Sango's and Kirara's (AN: can't forget her, now can we?) was on the second floor and Miroku's, Inuyasha's, and Shippou's was on the 3rd floor. Miroku's was next to Inuyasha's and Shippou's. As soon as Inuyasha was shown the way to the bathhouse, he went. He needed to relax. Not long after, the door opened again and Miroku and Shippou came in. The slipped in the huge bath without a word, knowing Inuyasha wouldn't want to talk right then. Deciding they had spent long enough in the bathhouse, they retreated back to their rooms. After getting dressed, Inuyasha's servant knocked on the door. Inuyasha answered it and the servant bowed.

"Your presence is requested at dinner in an hour," he relayed, gesturing to both Inuyasha and Shippou.

"We'll be there," he replied. The servant bowed again and made his leave. Inuyasha closed the door and laid on the bed. "Shippou, wake me up when dinner is ready," he said before falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.

----an hour later----

"Inuyasha, wake up! Inuyasha! INUYASHA, WAKE UP!!" screamed Shippou, trying desperately to wake Inuyasha. Shippou sighed and left the room, coming back with a glass of ice water. "Inuyasha, WAKE UP!" he yelled, throwing the water on Inuyasha's face.

"AHHH!!!" Inuyasha sputtered. "C-c-co-cold," he said shivering.

"I had to do it, it's dinner time and you wouldn't wake up," said Shippou, leaving the room to go to dinner. Inuyasha growled and looked for a towel. Finding one, he quickly dried his face and hair before making his way to the dining room. Upon arriving, he noticed he was the last one to show up. He took the only seat left, in between Miroku and Princess What's-her-face. He surveyed the table and its occupants. The King was at the head of the table with the Queen on his right and the Princess on his left. A girl with raven black hair was sitting next to the Queen. Inuyasha couldn't see her face because her head was bowed. To the left of the girl was a wolf youkai with his black hair put in a high ponytail, his piercing blue eyes seeming to be narrowed at Inuyasha. Next to the youkai was Shippou. To the right of the Princess was Inuyasha, then Miroku. Sitting next to Miroku was Sango. Kirara was on the floor in a corner, lapping at a bowl of milk.

"Inuyasha, I'm glad you came," said Kikyou. At the mention of Inuyasha's name, the girl across from Inuyasha raised her head sharply, her brown eyes wide with shock. Inuyasha glanced at her then did a double-take. 'What...How could...That can't be...What is going on!?' Inuyasha thought, his expressions turning to shock then to relief then to confusion.

AN: Done! What do you mean, "That's a terrible way to end it!"? That is a good way to end it!! It's called a cliffy!! What are you doing with those tomatoes!? Ouch!! DON'T THROW THOSE TOMATOES AT ME!!! ::kyuuka is bombarded with tomatoes:: I'm allergic to tomatoes!!! ::readers start throwing coconuts:: NO, NO, I WAS LYING, I'M NOT ALLERGIC TO TOMATOES!!! ::readers throw coconuts and tomatoes and kyuuka is knocked unconscious:: -

Hinote: Looks like we've gotta do the rest of the AN, Kasai.  
Kasai: Seems that way. Time for Reviewer Responses!!

**crazy-kitsune**- Hinote: Well, kit, kyuuka decided to keep Okibi out of this story. And she says thanks for bein her beta reader. Now REVIEW!!

**The Spiked Dragon-** Kasai: It's always nice to see a new reviewer!! Yeah, kyuuka knows Kirara's a girl now...don't know why she didn't before, but anywhozamawhatsitz, keep reviewin!

**obsessiveIY-psycho-girl92- **Hinote: Sorry, kyuuka's not putting Okibi in this story. I think you're the first person to ever threaten kyuuka!! And with a chainsaw!? That's her weapon of choice, but she's got a special one called Mr. Chainsaw. She also has Dr. Bazooka, Ms. Flamethrower, and Sr. Sword, but don't get any ideas now! Review!!

**eddie4**- Kasai: Glad ya like! Thanks for reviewing, and remember to review for this chapter too!

**Xessive- **Hinote: Be glad kyuuka's not putting Okibi in this story. But trust me, Okibi is not evil, she can't do...hehe, woops, almost gave away another spoiler. REVIEW DAMMIT!! hehe, coz Hinote, the cool muse said so!!

Hinote: Well, that's it. Remember to review or kyuuka will think it's our fault that the chapter stunk.  
Kasai: Yeah, you wouldn't want us to get in trouble, would ya?  
Hinote: Didn't think so!   
Kasai: Oh, and by the way, kyuuka decided not to put Okibi in this story.  
Hinote: Yeah, she only wanted Okibi in SFSFH.  
Kasai: And you can still sign up for her notify list!!  
Hinote: http: / kyuuka-kit. notifylist. com/ amgr.html (fill in the spaces)  
Kasai: Well, until next chappie!!  
Hinote and Kasai: See ya!!


	7. Surprises Lay Around Every Corner

AN: Well howdy-ho my dear reviewers! If you haven't already heard, I can't do anymore smilies...yes I know, it's very sad. I also started another story with my co-author Xessive aka Cheesecake! It's called The Hospital for lack of a better title. But anyway, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Goodness, do I really hafta do this? I've done a disclaimer a total of....19 times? I guess that's not that much when ya think about it...oh well. I don't own Inu and crew!

Last Chapter:

"I had to do it, it's dinner time and you wouldn't wake up," said Shippou, leaving the room to go to dinner. Inuyasha growled and looked for a towel. Finding one, he quickly dried his face and hair before making his way to the dining room. Upon arriving, he noticed he was the last one to show up. He took the only seat left, in between Miroku and Princess What's-her-face. He surveyed the table and its occupants. The King was at the head of the table with the Queen on his right and the Princess on his left. A girl with raven black hair was sitting next to the Queen. Inuyasha couldn't see her face because her head was bowed. To the left of the girl was a wolf youkai with his black hair put in a high ponytail, his piercing blue eyes seeming to be narrowed at Inuyasha. Next to the youkai was Shippou. To the right of the Princess was Inuyasha, then Miroku. Sitting next to Miroku was Sango. Kirara was on the floor in a corner, lapping at a bowl of milk.

"Inuyasha, I'm glad you came," said Kikyou. At the mention of Inuyasha's name, the girl across from Inuyasha raised her head sharply, her brown eyes wide with shock. Inuyasha glanced at her then did a double-take. 'What...How could...That can't be...What is going on!?' Inuyasha thought, his expressions turning to shock then to relief then to confusion.

**_A Mistake Gone Right_**

**__**

**Chapter 7: Surprises Lay Around Every Corner**

The two stared at each other for what seemed like hours but was merely a few seconds. They broke their stares at someone clearing their throat and then speaking.

"Have you two met before?" questioned the King, noticing their surprised looks. Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the girl.

"No!! I've never seen this man before in my life," she said desperately, "But I've heard of his reputation from my father and mother," she said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Well then let me be the first to properly introduce you two," said the Queen. "Lord Inuyasha Akai, meet Lady Kaitou Hitoride from the eastern Kingdom of Fumounochi." Inuyasha opened his mouth yet again as if to say something, but Kaitou gave him a pleading look that said 'Don't say anything!' Inuyasha complied and shut his mouth.

"Well now that we are all properly acquainted, let's start eating, shall we?" suggested the Queen. Her husband nodded in response and waiters came in, carrying several large silver platters. They expertly placed them on the table and quickly left. Dinner was eaten in silence...well, mostly. Everyone but Kikyou was quietly enjoying their food. Kikyou, on the other hand, was eagerly talking to Inuyasha who stayed quiet and snuck quick glance at Kaitou every few minutes. He was very aware of the fact that Kaitou snuck a few glances at him too. Inuyasha dropped his fork on his plate when he finished and scooted his chair back.

"I'm done, thank you for inviting me to dinner, but I'm afraid I'm very tired and must retire to my bed," he said with a politeness his mother taught him to use when talking to fellow royals. He stood up before anyone could protest and sluggishly left the dining room. Kaitou looked after him before dropping her own fork and standing up.

"I...I think he looked a little sick," she explained while bowing and hastily following after him. She ran through the halls and finally found him walking up the grand staircase.

"Inuyasha," she called. He stopped but didn't turn around. "Inuyasha?" she called again. This time Inuyasha's ears twitched before he fully turned around.

"What happened after Kagura kidnapped you, Kagome?" he asked bluntly. Kagome's eyes seemed to freeze up and she became rigid.

"N-nothing! I...I escaped! Yeah, I escaped!" she blurted out. Inuyasha scowled.

"You don't have to lie to me! I was worried that he'd hurt you, or worse!" he said gruffly before he could stop himself. He quickly turned around again.

"Inuyasha...I'm fine," Kagome said, changing the subject. "See? Not a scratch on me!" she said happily. Inuyasha turned back around and studied Kagome. She was right, she was perfectly fine...but how could she be perfect? No one was perfect. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Kagome...if Naraku made you do anything or if he made a deal with you...you would tell me, right?" he asked, already knowing Naraku must have asked her to do something. The only question was...what?

"Of course, Inuyasha," Kagome said in a quiet voice, but not breaking eye contact. Inuyasha reluctantly turned back around and headed to his room.

"Ok I believe you...Kaitou," said Inuyasha as he disappeared into his room. Kagome sighed and decided to head to her own room. 'It's going to be really hard to lie to Inuyasha,' she thought. 'But I have to! For his own sake!' she thought with determination as she entered her room.

----Later that night----

Kagome's eyes flew open as she bolted upright in her bed, panting and sweating. She calmed her breathing and looked out the window only to see the night sky and the moon still hanging in the air. She sighed as she got out of bed and walked to her door. Cracking it open and peeking outside she saw the coast was clear. She opened the door all the way and softly padded down the hall. She reached a stairwell and grabbed onto the banister to walk down. Trailing her hands on the walls to lead the way, she slowly and carefully made her way to the kitchen, intent on getting a glass of water.

She finally reached the kitchen door and slowly slid it open. She lit a nearby candle and when she looked up she covered her mouth to stop her scream. There was a man lying on the floor in a pool of blood with a knife embedded deep in his back. She slowly crept nearer to the body and peered at the face in the dimly lit room. It was the cook, killed with his own butcher knife. She slowly backed away, covering her mouth to keep from retching. To her horror, she ended up backing into something, or someone. She slowly turned around and came face to face with the King.

The King looked confusedly at who he believed was a royal named Kaitou and then behind her at the bloody sight of the dead cook. His eyes widened and he returned his gaze to Kagome. Shock and horror set in his features before they turned to anger and outrage.

"Did you do this?" he questioned. Kagome gulped. Something told her that even if she said 'no' he wouldn't believe her.

"No, I didn't," she replied firmly.

"Then who did? Surely you must have seen them?" he questioned, suspicion slowly creeping into his voice.

"I don't know, I just came down for a glass of water and-" her explanation was cut short as the man grabbed her arm.

"I do not allow killers in my house," he said menacingly. "Guards!" he called, "Guards!" Kagome's eyes widened in fear as two guards came running into the room. "Take this murderer to the dungeons. I'll decide her punishment later," he explained, leaving the room to find some servants to take care of the body. The guards roughly dragged her down to the dungeons where they locked her cell.

----Next morning----

Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light filtering in through the window. He took in his surroundings before remembering he was at the Yamakaji castle. He reluctantly got out of bed and changed his clothes. Shippou wasn't in the room and Inuyasha figured he had gone down to breakfast. He also decided that food would be a good idea so he made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Opening the door he peered inside. Almost everyone was sitting at the table but there was no food. The King was talking in a low, serious tone and everyone was listening intently, all with grim expressions. As soon as he opened the door, all eyes went to him.

"Ah, Inuyasha, you should take a seat. This is very important and everyone needs to hear it," he said, gesturing to the seat next to Kikyou. Inuyasha looked around at the table.

"What about Kaitou?" he asked, sitting down when he realized she was the only one not present. The king hesitated before explaining to Inuyasha.

"Well, that's what this is about. You see, I came downstairs to the kitchen last night," he began, "I saw Kaitou in the kitchen and on the ground before her was the cook...he was dead," he explained.

"You think she killed him!?" he exclaimed disbelievingly.

"Who else would have done it?" the King asked sharply. Inuyasha silenced and stared unseeingly at the table in front of him. "We've locked her in the dungeon for the time being," he added quietly, "until we decide her punishment." Inuyasha's hands clenched under the table and he gritted his teeth to keep from yelling at the King. He had to see Kagome and ask her about this. Suddenly standing up, he quickly left the room.

"Inuyasha, where are you going?" he heard Kikyou call out, but he didn't answer. He kept turning down hallways and down stairways, following Kagome's scent. Finally reaching the door to the dungeons below, he began to turn the handle, but stopped short when he heard a guard.

"Hey you, what do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha turned around.

"I wanted to speak to Kaitou," he answered honestly. The guards studied him, making sure he wasn't carrying any concealed weapons.

"Make it quick," said the first guard as he opened the door to let him through. Inuyasha nodded in thanks and entered the dungeons. Quick descending the stairs, he found Kagome asleep in a cell. After looking behind him to make sure the guards weren't listening, he turned back to Kagome.

"Kagome," he whispered. When she didn't respond, he called her name a little louder. Groaning in protest, Kagome sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Inuyasha?" she questioned when she saw him standing outside her cell.

"Yeah, it's me," he answered. "I came to ask about the cook." Kagome's eyes flashed in anger.

"You think I killed him? I didn't do it, Inuyasha, he was already dead when I found him!" she exclaimed. Inuyasha sighed in relief.

"I didn't think you did, but the king does and he's got the whole castle thinking the same thing. If we don't get you out of here he could have you killed," Inuyasha said seriously.

"What would it matter," Kagome muttered as she looked at the ground.

"What would it matter?" Inuyasha repeated. "Kagome, you could die! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Kagome looked Inuyasha square in the eye and said, "No...it doesn't." This took Inuyasha by surprise. What happened to the happy energetic Kagome he had met a few weeks ago?

"Kagome...this has to do with Naraku, doesn't it?" he asked. Kagome's fists clenched as her eyes watered with unshed tears.

"No," she forced the lie out through gritted teeth.

"You're lying," Inuyasha stated squarely.

"Even if it does have something to do with Naraku...it would be better if you didn't know," she said, choosing her words carefully, trying to convey to Inuyasha to drop the subject.

"If Naraku hurt you or threatened you in any way, I swear I'll kill him," Inuyasha said.

"You should go," Kagome said, changing the subject, still staring at the ground. Inuyasha turned around and walked to the foot of the stairs, turning only once to see Kagome. He continued up the stairs and left the dungeons. Turning a corner, he bumped into the wolf demon he saw last night.

"Watch where you're going, Mutt," the demon ordered, bypassing Inuyasha.

"Who are you to order me around?" Inuyasha asked without turning to face him.

"I'm Kouga, the leader of the wolf tribe," the demon answered turning around.

"Well, Kouga, you don't know who you're messing with, so lay off," Inuyasha said, starting to walk again.

"I know that you're a filthy half-breed," Kouga replied smugly. This made Inuyasha stop dead in his tracks and face him.

"I may be a hanyou, but I could beat you any day," Inuyasha said.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"Hmph, I don't have time for the likes of you, I have to talk to Kaitou," Kouga said, turning back down the hall.

"How do you know Kaitou?" Inuyasha asked.

"She showed up here yesterday, and I'm going to make her my woman after I save her," he answered.

"Your woman?" Inuyasha said softly in order to keep the anger out of his voice. Kouga didn't answer and kept walking down the hall. Inuyasha turned around and stalked off to his room deep in thought.

----Kagome's POV----

Kagome sat in her cell after Inuyasha had left, thinking about their conversation. It was true that this had something to do with Naraku, not just her little 'mission', but the killing of the cook too. Who would kill the cook? What cause did they have to kill him and leave his body? And what was the King doing down in the kitchen? Was he just getting a glass of water like her, or was he doing something else entirely. She put her thoughts on hold when she heard the door open yet again. This time Kouga stood in the doorway.

"Kaitou, are you okay?" he asked, rushing to her cell. Kagome stood up and brushed herself off.

"I'm fine, Kouga," she answered.

"I don't see how the King could think you killed the cook, but I'll get you out of here one way or another," he said, determination set in his voice.

"I don't think you can," she responded.

"I can and I will!" he protested, "I'm going to go talk to the King. The only reason he thinks you killed the cook is because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Kagome nodded in agreement. "I had no reason to kill the cook. I didn't even know his name," she muttered more to herself than to Kouga.

"And after I get you out of here, we can leave."

"We?" Kagome repeated skeptically.

"Yes, we. We can get married and you can be my mate," he explained.

"Kouga, it wouldn't work out between us," she said softly.

"You say that now because you're scared. Don't worry, Kaitou, I'll protect you," Kouga replied, turning to leave. "I have to go now, don't give up hope," he added, climbing the stairs and going through the door. Kagome sighed in relief when she saw the door close. Her relief was short-lived however, when a demon suddenly appeared in the darkness.

"Kagome, how did you get yourself in this mess?" Kagome growled when she recognized the figure.

"Kagura," she ground out.

"Yes, Naraku has sent me to see how your little mission is going," she explained in her sultry voice.

"It's going great, just peachy," Kagome answered sarcastically.

"What have you been accused of?"

"Killing the cook."

"Who really killed the cook?"

"I don't know," Kagome answered truthfully.

"You do know that the cook possessed a jewel shard, do you not?"

"He did?"

"Yes, he did. Did you see it in his body?"

"I think I may have glimpsed it when he was alive, but I thought I was just imagining it. It wasn't in his dead body," Kagome responded.

"So that means someone else must have taken it," Kagura looked thoughtful.

"What about the King?"

"How would the King know about the jewel shards?"

"I don't know, but he was the only other one in the kitchen when I found the body," Kagome explained.

"Hmmmm...I must tell Naraku about this. Do not forget about your mission in that little cell of yours," Kagura said, preparing to leave.

"Wait! You're not going to get me out of here?"

"If I did, where would you go? You still need to complete the mission but if you mysteriously escaped the dungeon, they would suspect something," Kagura explained as she vanished. Kagome sighed in defeat. 'This mission is going to ruin everything,' Kagome thought as she slunk back to the ground. Little did she know that that was a big understatement.

AN: Well that took forever. Sorry I took so long, I really am. I had a little bit of writer's block, but I'm over it! Well right now my computer doesn't have internet access, so this could take longer to update than I want it too. On to Reviewer Responses!

**purity.starz-** Wow...I have to say that's the best review I've ever gotten! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! lol! Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you review again!

**eddie4**- Don't worry, there'll be more fluff in later chapters...really really later chapters...lol. keep reviewing!

**Xessive**- ...I still don't know Rehio is...and I don't know why you had 3 personalities in that review...I'm not sure if I wanna know though...Oo...REVIEW AGAIN!!

Well that's it. Catch ya later!


	8. Together Again

AN: I was kinda thinking of dropping this story entirely since I'm still not sure the storyline is all that great…but I'll do a couple more chapters before deciding. Sorry I haven't updated in forever, but my computer was broken, and I haven't really had any inspiration. Sorry folks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the other Inuyasha characters.

Last Chapter:

"Hmmmm…I must tell Naraku about this. Do not forget about your mission in that little cell of yours," Kagura said, preparing to leave.

"Wait! You're not going to get me out of here?"

"If I did, where would you go? You still need to complete the mission but if you mysteriously escaped the dungeon, they would suspect something," Kagura explained as she vanished. Kagome sighed in defeat. 'This mission is going to ruin everything,' Kagome thought as she slunk back to the ground. Little did she know that that was a big understatement.

**_A Mistake Gone Right _**

Chapter 8: Together Again

Kouga bravely and brusquely opened the door to the King's quarters, despite the guards' protests. The King looked up from his desk full of papers to see him striding towards him with a malice in his eyes, unmatched by any other demon he knew.

"I demand that you let Kaitou go," he said quietly and gruffly. His only response was a chuckle from the King and a sarcastic look that seemed to say, 'Boy, you're insane.' Kouga growled and slammed his closed fist down on the table, bringing his face closer to the King's. "There is no way Kaitou would have done this. She had no reason to! How can you even think that innocent girl would do that?" he yelled.

The King's expression changed from one of amusement to one of cruelty in the blink of an eye. "You dare defy me?" he asked calmly, letting only a hint of his anger into his voice.

Kouga smirked, "Yes, I do. Got a problem with that?"

"No…I don't have a problem with it, but it would seem my guards do," he said, now smiling. With one snap of his fingers, half a dozen guards entered the room and restrained the protesting Kouga. "Since he's so infatuated with Ms. Hitoride, see that he gets the cell next to hers. I'll decide his punishment after I'm through with the girl's."

"He!" Kouga's words were cut off when the guards stuffed a gag in his mouth and began dragging him out of the room. When the guards had left and the door was closed, the King let out a low laugh.

"We shall see who has the greatest power. No demon or human shall stop me."

* * *

Inuyasha

* * *

Inuyasha glared at the floor as he walked. Something was amiss. Kagome was hiding something from him, something that had to do with Naraku. Inuyasha stopped his brooding when he heard scuffling coming down the hall. Looking up, he saw Kouga being dragged down to the dungeons. A perplexed expression crossed Inuyasha's features. He knew Kouga was an idiot, but for him to get himself locked away? Deciding that he had to find out what was going on, he walked to the hallway where Kouga had come from and saw that the King's bedroom door stood at the far side. 

He walked cautiously to the door and peeked it open, since the guards had left to take Kouga to the dungeon. The King was standing with his back to the door, and he had something in his hand. Inuyasha eased the door open a little more, but stopped when the King began softly laughing.

"You think you could sneak up on me, boy?" The King then turned his head over his shoulder and looked at Inuyasha. He seemed to be the epitome of insanity, with a wild, depraved look in his eyes, clasping his hand around the object.

"Well, since you're here, I might as well let you be the first to witness my power!" The King fully turned to face Inuyasha and with a strange force, jammed the object into the top his skull. Surprisingly, he didn't bleed.

"What're you doing, you maniac?" Inuyasha shouted at him, still at a loss as to what had possessed the King to do something so strange.

"What I'm doing…" grinned the King, "is completing my reign over this region!" With that said, the King closed his eyes tightly and Inuyasha suddenly felt an immense pain in his skull.

"Wha…What's going on?" Inuyasha muttered as he clutched his head, feeling that it might explode at any time.

"I'm going through your memories and analyzing your brain. I now have a power greater than any you possess! And it would seem that I was right…this 'Kaitou' is a fake. She's merely a peasant!"

"Yeah…what's it to you?" said Inuyasha, trying, through his pain, to unsheathe his sword.

"I don't think you should do that," laughed the King, and suddenly Inuyasha's hand moved farther from his sword. "Along with my power to read your thoughts and memories, I also have the power to control them!"

"You…bastard…" Inuyasha managed to say.

"I see you're still not completely under my power. Well, that won't last long, boy." Inuyasha sank to his knees, groaning in pain, his head hurting worse than before. It was agonizing and it was getting harder to resist the King's commands. But he couldn't be defeated by a human like him! Inuyasha forced his eyes open and glared coldly at the King, pushing aside his pain as best he could and forcing his hand back to his sword.

"You're just a coward…Normally you'd never be able to even touch me…but you need this tool to do all the work for you!" Inuyasha finally reached his sword and unsheathed it, but even though it turned into the Tetsusaiga, he still couldn't use it to deflect the King's power.

"You don't know what you're dealing with. This 'tool' is a shard of the Shikon Jewel! And if you think that little trinket of yours will be of any help to you, you are sadly mistaken, boy!" the King mocked.

"Damn it," Inuyasha cursed under his breath. He knew he wouldn't last very long if this kept up. He tried standing back up, but the King's power was too strong. Despite the situation he was in, Inuyasha didn't think even once of giving up. He would never admit defeat, especially not to a coward of an old human. But Inuyasha's determination alone couldn't help him. He needed to distract the King somehow.

"What are you planning to do with that power? Use it to make everyone believe you're the greatest being to ever exist, just so you can gain false confidence? You're even more of an idiot than you look like. You'd be forcing the people to show their 'loyalty' to you, when really, they think you're the most moronic person in the world!"

"Shut up!" the King yelled, and the pain increased tenfold in Inuyasha's skull. He was feeling dizzy and darkness was beginning to creep into the edges of his vision. The room was spinning and he was hearing voices in his head.

"Inuyasha, get up!" he heard. Inuyasha couldn't respond. He was in too much pain. The next voice he heard was the King's.

"It's too late for him! I have him completely under my spell! And now you fools will die along with him!" Fools? There was more than one person in his head? Inuyasha was only half-conscious and was having trouble seeing.

"Hiraikotsu!" he heard a familiar voice yell followed by a thud. He didn't have time to wonder what was going on, because all of a sudden he felt someone slap him.

"Ow! What'd ya do that for, wench?" he yelled impulsively, as his vision came back. He was staring into the worried face of Kagome. He looked around and saw Sango and Miroku standing nervously in front of them. The King looked gleeful as he held Hiraikotsu in one hand. Inuyasha suddenly sprang to his feet, completely free from the King's mental grasp on him.

"You bastard! No one knows my thoughts without my permission!" he shouted as he ran toward the King brandishing his sword. "Kaze no kizu!" He swung the sword downward as three large cracks suddenly spread through the ground in front of him.

"You missed," he heard a calm voice behind him say. In the next moment, he was knocked to the ground with a new wound on his cheek. He quickly rolled over to kneel facing the King. "You die now!" the King said as he brought a concealed dagger rushing toward Inuyasha.

* * *

Kagome

* * *

Kagome looked up as another person was thrown into the jail cell next to her. 

"K-Kouga?" she asked incredulously. "What are you doing in here?"

"The King threw me in here. Apparently his guards had a problem with me," Kouga answered as he stood up and brushed himself off. "I don't trust that king…there's something really weird going on around here."

"What I haven't figured out is why the King was down in the kitchen at the time I was. I was just getting a glass of water, but I think the King would have his servants get water for him if he needed it. He must've been down there to do something he didn't want anyone else to do," Kagome said, more to herself than to Kouga.

"I'll bet he's the one that got rid of the cook. But I wonder why…" Kouga trailed off. Kagome stared at the ground. The King did it to get the jewel shard; she just knew it. But why would he need that type of power? He was already King over the land. What could he possibly gain by using a jewel shard?

* * *

Inuyasha

* * *

"I believe you're the one who'll be dying," Inuyasha said menacingly as he smirked at something behind the King. The King stopped in mid-strike and glared at Inuyasha before turning around. He was in a bad position indeed. 

As the King turned around, Sango threw Hiraikotsu, which the King had dropped when avoiding Inuyasha's Kaze no kizu. It hit him hard in the face and threw him off his feet. Inuyasha took this opportunity to strike with his sword again.

"Kaze no kizu!" he shouted and got a direct hit this time. The King stared through unseeing eyes at the ceiling as Inuyasha sheathed his sword. "What a sick bastard," he mumbled as he turned to Sango and Miroku.

"Let's go get Kagome and get the heck out of here," he said as he walked past them. They silently followed him through the winding hallways and down the stairs to the dungeons below. As they approached, the guards stepped forward.

"What do you want?" one of them asked gruffly.

Inuyasha wasted no words on the guards as he merely punched each of them out without wasting time. He grabbed the keys and walked to Kagome's cell.

"Hey Kagome, let's go," he said, capturing her attention, and Kouga's as well.

"Who is Kagome?" he asked immediately. He was ignored as Kagome talked over him.

"Inuyasha! If you let me out, you'll get in trouble," she protested as Inuyasha turned the keys in the lock.

"Not likely. The King's dead," he said, failing to mention that it was he who had killed the King. He opened the cell door and Kagome unsteadily got to her feet and walked out.

"Who's Kagome?" Kouga asked again as the group prepared to leave. His only response was the clatter of key as they hit the stone floor in his cell.

"You can let yourself out," Inuyasha tossed over his shoulder as the disappeared from view.

'Damn you, Inuyasha,' Kouga thought angrily as he picked up the keys.

* * *

30 minutes later…

* * *

The group had been walking in silence after picking up Shippou and leaving the castle. Kagome was walking with her head down, rolling the newly acquired jewel shard through her hands. She had made an excuse to return to the King's room and quickly found the jewel. Her thoughts were abruptly cut short as Inuyasha's voice interrupted the silence. 

"What's going on, Kagome?" he asked simply, not one to beat around the bush. When Kagome didn't answer, Inuyasha stopped and grabbed Kagome's wrist, but not too tightly so as not to hurt her.

"Kagome," he said softer, "What did Naraku say to you?" The whole group stopped and stared at the two. Kagome wouldn't explain, couldn't explain. If Inuyasha knew what was going on, he would hate her, she just knew it.

"Wench, just tell me!" he said, letting go of her wrist.

Kagome sighed, knowing she had no other choice but to tell them. "I have to gather the shard of the Shikon no Tama for Naraku, because if I don't, he'll…" she trailed off, looking at the ground, unable to meet the unwavering stare of Inuyasha.

"He'll what?" he urged.

After nearly a full minute, Kagome looked up, tears shining in her eyes. "He'll kill you and Sango and Miroku and Shippou." There was a penetrating silence after that that sent shivers up Inuyasha's spine. He felt they were being watched.

"Feh, you think that idiotic buffoon can kill us? There's no was I'd let that happen. Don't do his dirty work anymore, Kagome. As long as we have the jewel shards, their power can't be used for evil," he said as he began walking again. Kagome stared after him a moment before smiling and following after him and the group. She just knew that Inuyasha could protect them.

* * *

Later that night…

* * *

"Can we stop now? I'm tired!" Shippou complained as they half walked, half dragged their bodies through the forest. They were returning to Inuyasha's land, since they had nowhere else to go for the time being. 

"Fine," Inuyasha said as he stopped walking. He didn't really want to go back home. That would mean having to face his half-brother, and he really hated his half-brother. The group sat down happily and most soon drifted off to sleep. Inuyasha jumped up onto a tree branch and fell asleep faster than anyone, Kagome and Shippou following soon after, leaving only Sango and Miroku awake.

"They're quite the couple, aren't they?" Miroku asked as he looked between Inuyasha and Kagome.

"They seem that way," agreed Sango, "But you know they'll never admit their feelings to each other."

"Heh, maybe not for a while, but eventually they'll be inseparable." The two fell into a comfortable silence for a moment or two.

"Sango, may I ask you a question?" Miroku asked.

"As long as it's not 'Will you bear my children?'," she answered calmly.

"What do you think of me?"

Sango was surprised at the question. She had honestly thought that he would ask something perverted, as per usual.

"W-What do you mean?" she stuttered.

"Do you think of me as a friend?"

"Of course," she answered, wondering where this interrogation was getting.

"Do you think of me as more than a friend?"

Sango sharply turned to face the monk, only to find his eyes closed and his face looking toward the ground. She felt her face heat up slightly but shook her head free from her thoughts. She looked away and crossed her arms indignantly. "That's a silly question."

She heard Miroku sigh and as she peeked out of the corner of her eyes, saw the monk's expression turn into one of slight amusement. "You're right…it is silly," he said as he lied down and quickly fell asleep. Sango stared at him for a few minutes after he had fallen asleep before lying down as well. Before falling asleep, she thought back to his question.

"That's a silly question, Houshi-sama…of course I think of you as more than a friend," she mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

AN: Ok, I know that's incredibly, incredibly short, but I just think that's a good spot to end it. The next chapter should be really long, because that's when I'm going to add in Fluffy!  
Sesshoumaru: Don't call me Fluffy!  
Kaz: Aw, but it's kawaii!  
Fluffy: It is not!  
Kaz-snickers-  
Fluffy: CHANGE MY NAME BACK!  
Kaz: NEVER! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!  
Fluffy: Why you insolent human-slashes at Kaz with Tokijin-  
Kaz: Ughhhh…  
Hinote: I guess since she's immobilized, we should take over, eh, Kasai?  
Kasai: Correct, Hinote! And now it's time for Reviewer Responses!

**xbittersweet-** Kaz's sorry she took so long to update. She hopes you still read her stories though and she thanks you for reviewing!

**Serenity- **Kaz says no glomping or rabid fangirls! She likes reviews though! So keep reviewing, Serenity!

**Xessive- **A review is a review, even if it's a forced review! And reviews make Kaz happy! BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Review again, I command you!

Again, I'm really sorry it's so short and I haven't updated in forever, but honestly, I hate this story. But then again, I hate all my stories, so whatever. Well, that's it. REVIEW!


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